


Splash of Color

by RizRice



Series: Pictures Worth a Thousand Words [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High School, Manga & Anime, Reader-Insert, Romance, Slice of Life, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-06-05 00:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 73,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6682735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RizRice/pseuds/RizRice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Routines can get a little boring. As structured as they may be, the world can begin to look black and white. But once a splash of color hits your nose, the routine you once held dear changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Frequent Face

"Oi, practice is over." Iwaizumi glances over at Oikawa who still hasn't made a move to clean up with the rest of the team. Iwaizumi takes a deep breath, letting Oikawa know he's going to repeat himself until Oikawa cuts him off.

"Don't wait up for me today."

Iwaizumi's face scrunches up in irritation at his friend's insistence to stay and practice longer. "You better not slack off for morning practice tomorrow..." he trails off, "and you better leave by five okay?" Looking at Oikawa's nod in agreement, he finally picks up his bag and makes his way out of the gym.

Once the doors to the gym finally shut, Oikawa takes a deep breath before more brooding thoughts seep into his mind. Reaching out to grab a drink from his water bottle, he lets out a sigh at the realization that it was empty.

Loosening his grip around the bottle for a moment, Oikawa lets his arm drop back to his side before walking over to the gym doors. Going out of the gym, he makes his way into the school to refill his water bottle. Oikawa trudges to his destination, his water bottle clenched in his hand as he tried to fight the present worries that were once again weighing him down. His thoughts come to a stop once he reaches the water fountain and focuses on filling up the water bottle.

After capping the water bottle, he turns around, planning to head back to the gym--only for his eye to catch a lone figure through the wide crack of the door leading to the art club room. He saw you many times, noticing that both of you guys stayed longer after club activities. Curiously, he makes slow and quiet steps towards the doors of the art club room, taking a glimpse though the open crack leading into the room.

Your hair was messily tied back, eyes narrowed and concentrated on the canvas in front of you. Oikawa watched your side profile and couldn't help but feel intrigued seeing you so focused.

Quietly backing away from the door, he made his way back to the gym to get some more practice in.

~~

Your brows furrowed and your nose crinkled at the canvas in front of you. It didn't take long for you to notice that there was something off about the painting. The part that frustrated you the most was trying to figure out what it lacked.

Leaning back in your seat, your chest heaves up for a moment to take a deep breath before you let out a loud exhale, scratching away an itch at the tip of your nose as you closed your eyes to rest for a second. Unfortunately, this was one of many paintings that seemed to be lacking substance recently. Practicing different techniques and experimenting with different colors, you thought that if you put in extra time on those aspects after club activities, your slump would be solved. However, that didn't seem to be the case. Your open your eyes and turn to glance at the clock.

Deciding to leave earlier today, you clear and clean your materials before packing up to leave the art clubroom. You have had this routine going on since you've joined the art club a year ago where an hour after all the clubs leave, you would stay behind and continue working. Recently, you would see Oikawa leave the school around the same time as you. Although you have never properly met Oikawa, you decided that it would be safer to be around him while you go home considering that it had started to get darker out earlier. What you didn't account for was that every time you entered the train cart, he would sit on the other end of the three seater seat you've assigned yourself to without fail.

Since you decided to leave earlier, you pass by the gym and out of your own curiosity, peer inside through the window. Your eyes catch Oikawa's strong gaze as his arm sends a powerful snap to the volleyball which speeds over the net. Although you didn't know much about volleyball, seeing a spectacle like that made you stare in awe.

Your awe was cut short when you saw Oikawa's gaze trailing over to the door and right at you. Staggering back quickly, you shuffle away from the door and continue walking to your intended destination in haste, hoping he hadn't seen your face that well and just assumed it was a fan that stayed back to catch a glimpse of him.

~~

Once on the train, you sit in your usual spot, hoping you wouldn't have to run into Oikawa today. You cringed slightly at the thought of being reminded of the ridiculous expression he saw you in when you guys caught each other's eyes. He was still practicing when you left so you reassured yourself there was no way you'd see him today.

Like the world attempting to spite you just for the heck of it, you notice a familiar figure wearing a volleyball jersey sitting beside you rather than his usual spot. You unconsciously flinch at the sudden familiarity he gave off as he lets out a chuckle, causing you turn to look at him.

You blinked at him warily. "Um...Can I help you?"

Currently sporting an amused grin, Oikawa shakes his head. "Nope, but I think I can help you." He points right at the tip of your nose. Noticing your confused expression, he pulls out his phone so you could see your reflection.

...Your reflection sporting a big red splotch of dried paint right at the tip of your nose. You instantly flush and rub the paint off your nose harshly as you hear Oikawa laughing at you but still holding up his phone so you could see yourself.

A couple minutes later, all that is left is a pink mark on the tip of your nose from the remains of the paint. Sighing in your reflection on the phone, only then do you glance over to Oikawa who looked genuinely amused by the whole fiasco. You offer a sheepish grin. "Uh, thanks for that."

He sends you a broad smile in return. "No problem~" His smile remains on his face as he pulls his phone back in his pocket. "So, I saw you watching me practice today."

You flush a little, embarrassed that your face was seen in your moment of awe and quietly made a grumble of agreement. "I was a little curious..." You trail off. "I suppose you were a little curious too when you peeked into the art clubroom?"

His eyes widen slightly before they resume back to their regular size. "Eh~ You saw me?" He pouts. "I thought for sure I wasn't noticed."

You laugh a little, shifting in your seat slightly. "You might have to work on that."

"Hmm so I can come visit you there sometime?" He grins, his eyes lighting up mischievously.

Your face instinctively scrunches up and Oikawa pouts again.

"I didn't even do anything to bother you yet!" He whines.

_Yet._ Your thoughts retort but you don't voice them. You give him a small smile. "Once in a while would be fine."

Oikawa perks up at your response and gives you a wink while saying, "then you should come watch my practice too!"

Thinking back to that awe you felt from seeing his practice earlier that day, you find yourself nodding to his proposal. "Hmm...deal." Suddenly, you could feel your stomach rumble, reminding you of the milk bread you skipped out on eating that lunch.

Remembering you had packed milk bread in your bag, you take it from your bag before proceeding to open the ziplock and tearing the bread in half. You hand one half to Oikawa who looks a little confused at the sudden gesture. "It's milk bread. I just thought that you might be a little hungry after practice."

He grins and takes one half of the bread. "These are my favorite, thanks~"

You smile at him in return. "Well that's convenient." As he takes his piece, you lightly tap your bread towards his. "Cheers to another day of hard work at practice."

Stifling a laugh, he plays along, lightly tapping his bread to yours. "This is new."

You grin. "It's nice to try new things, don't you agree?"

Taking a bite out of the bread, he contemplates it for a moment before finding his words. "It's certainly a nice change of pace." He lets out a thoughtful hum.

Looking out the window, you notice that your stop was next and made a move to stand. "Anyway, this is my stop." Turning to face him again you bow your head lightly at him before leaving through the opened doors. "Take care, Oikawa-san."

The next thing you hear from behind you was, "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Rudolph-chan~"

Your head quickly spins back to the doors to retort but the doors had already shut, leaving you to stare at Oikawa's smug grin as the train started to move again. You sigh as you turn back around to make your way home, a little worried on the idea that the nickname would stick around for more than a couple days.

 


	2. Nicknames

The next day went by smoothly as you breezed by your classes and waited for the school day to end so you could experiment on this new technique you found last night.  Soon the last bell rang for the day and you quickly packed your things and went out into the hallway to get to the art clubroom.

Unfortunately, you realized the nickname decided to stick around.

"Ah look~ It's Rudolph-chan!" The sing-song voice and the dreaded nickname made you quickly turn to your offender which was obviously the same boy you met yesterday.

It made you think twice about sharing any milk bread with him in the future.

"Oikawa-san, can't you be more creative with your naming?" You couldn't help retort back.

Oikawa opens his mouth to respond until a hand smacks firmly on top of his head. "Ack!"

Your eyes trail from the hand currently on top of Oikawa's head and realize that your defender is your classmate. "Ah, hey Iwaizumi-san."

"It's [Surname]-san, Trashykawa." You stifled a laugh before noticing his acknowledging nod towards you. "Hey."

"Iwa-chan~" Oikawa whines. "It's pretty creative! Considering where that big spot of red paint was! Can't you  _ picture _ it now?"

Iwaizumi turns away from his friend's whining before staring at your face for a moment and letting out a snort.

You felt so betrayed by your classmate. Your face flushed as memories of you just walking around with a big splotch of paint ingrained itself into your memory. "You can't even see it anymore!" You quickly cover your nose with your hands defensively and proceed to turn away from them. "I'm going to my club." You couldn't help slip in, "I hope you play volleyball better than you do at making nicknames."

All you could hear from behind you was lighthearted laughter and an airy reply of, "wouldn't you know~"

~~

You let out a deep sigh you didn't realize you were holding as soon as your materials were settled in front of you.

"I didn't know you knew Oikawa, [Name]!" Your friend nudged your side, sporting a playful grin.

The other students in the clubroom turned to you for a moment before returning to their work. They weren't very inconspicuous about the budding curiosity they seemed to emit on the newly formed friendship between you two.

"Ami..." Letting out an exasperated sigh, you hunch over your blank canvas, trying to ignore the very curious eyes on you right now. "Not personally...until I had a paint malfunction yesterday. He helped me out and that was that."

"Mhm..." She replied, unconvinced. "Calling you out with Rudolph-chan is totally not 'that was that'." Her fingers proceeded to do air quotes. Ami's grin stretches out even further. "That guy is such an icon here! Of course I'm curious about these turn of events." She wraps her arm around your shoulder. "Plus, I hear he broke up with his recent girlfriend not too long ago. Something about him focusing too much on volleyball. So...you know...if you want to..." She trails off suggestively.

You shrug off her shoulder before flicking her forehead.

"Ah!"

"Your imagination goes above and beyond Ami." You add in some acrylic on your paint palette. "Hey, how about that guy you were telling me about yesterday?"

Her eyes narrow at your very obvious change in topic. "I'll bother you about this again but I do have a lot to tell you about him." Her hand clasps onto your shoulder and leans in by your ear. "I think I'm making progress."

For the rest of the time, Ami continues animatedly talking about her current crush as you let out an internal sigh of relief at the attention away from the said popular student icon.

Plus, now more attention could be put into that new technique you've been dying to try out.

~~

"I'll see you later, [Name]!" Ami packs up her things before waving to you. "I wish I could walk home with you but I got to pick up my brother from daycare..." She pouted.

"Don't worry about it. We walk together in the morning anyways." You reassured her.

Ami took off with one last wave and closed the door, leaving you alone again in the room for the next hour. Turning to your unfinished work, you picked up your paintbrush again.

"Well, lets get back to work."

~~

Empty water bottle again.

He drops his water bottle back down and makes his way to the water fountain. As he fills it up, he pouts when he realizes the door of the art clubroom is closed today.

Curiously, he slowly and quietly opens the door to see you in the same position as yesterday. A side profile with your hair messily tied back, eyes narrowed and concentrated on the canvas in front of you. Leaning into the door too much, it began to open up further and unfortunately for him, let out a loud and noticeable creak.

Your trance broke as you turned to your intruder. "...Oikawa-san?"

His hands reflexively went up in defense at being caught in the act. "Ah~ You caught me!" He ended it with a flirtatious wink which you couldn't help but raise your brow at. This guy certainly knew how to breeze by situations.

Putting your brush down, you fully face him in your seat. "Well? What did you need?"

You see him pout by the door. "Nothing...I was just wondering why the door was closed."

You sigh. "Well it's open now." Your eyes shift to the clock before turning back to him. "Done practice for the day?"

"Ah, no." He holds up his water bottle. "Just needed to fill it up! The fountain around here is so nice and cold! The one by the gym is so lukewarm..." He lets out an exaggerated shudder.

You laugh a little at his exaggerated motions. "Well, I won't keep you from your practice. Good luck." With that you turn to your painting again and pick up your brush.

"Good luck to you too, Rudolph-chan!" You hear the door opening all the way and soon after the sound of footsteps echo further and further away.

Leaning back in your seat you groan. "He wouldn't possibly stick with that name, will he?"

Sitting back up in your seat properly, you continue absentmindedly working on your canvas. Your thoughts brainstorm nicknames you could throwback at him.

I mean...there was Trashykawa...but you wanted to be original.

Prove him that you could make a better nickname than his.

...

...

...Well, one day it'll come to you.


	3. After Club Meetings

The door to the club closes shut as you finish up for the day. Turning around, you're startled by a presence that appeared in front of you so suddenly.

"Ah! What are you doing, Oikawa-san?" Trying to calm your nerves, you raise your head to face him, waiting expectantly for a reason.

"I was going to sneak up on you but you suddenly turned around!" He points at you, believing that you are the blame for his foiled plans.

Your eye twitches slightly. "Better luck next time I guess." Sighing, you start walking away from him.

"Where are you going?" He quickly runs over, falling into step with you.

You quirk your brow. "To the train station. You know, like usual?" You didn't know how you felt about that broad smile he gave you after your response.

"Hmm~ So I was thinking, since we finish around the same time anyway, we can just walk there together?"

"Didn't we already do that?"

He pouts again. "You know what I mean!"

Letting out a little laugh, you nod at his suggestion. Considering that it got darker earlier in the day, it definitely would be better to have someone around just in case. "That's fine by me. But we can just wait at the entrance you know?"

"Where's the fun in that? Don't you want to see me practice more?" He lets out a teasing voice to which you quickly rebut.

"I don't know...I'm not the one who was caught more than once peeking into someone's club room..."

It was silent for a while since you knew the implication behind those words and he did too. You give yourself a mental high five for managing to settle the chatty volleyball star for the moment.

"Then--!"

Ah, well, it was nice while it lasted.

"I mean we both pass by the entrance before we make it to the gym or your club room. So, if the other person isn't there, why not wait by their respective club?"

Your brows furrowed at his idea, wondering why he would go to such lengths. I mean, it's just a lot more work to do what he suggested you figure. In the end, you let out a resigned sigh and nod to another of his suggestions. Whether he knew it or not, having him around would reassure you as you went home late so it was the least you could do.

"Really?" His voice couldn't mask his surprise.

"I nodded, didn't I?" You retorted. You pause at your tone before speaking again. "I mean, thanks for walking with me. I feel more assured knowing I'll get home in one piece..." You trail off. "...Mostly."

"Eh~ What does that mean?"

"Little bits of my pride are stripped away every time you speak of that awful nickname."

You couldn't help but notice a smidge of a smirk hidden in that broad smile of his. Was he enjoying this torment? Pondering the thought for a moment, you dismiss it.

Nah, it can't be.

You guys make it to the train and sit in your respectable seats. Well, your respectable seat. Oikawa seemed to have shifted over so he now sits right beside you.

"So...Rudolph-chan?" He stresses out the nickname and looks to you in a smug manner.

Your eyes narrow slightly but you refuse to let him rile you up. _One day I'll get you back._  You reassure yourself. For now, you settle for a short reply. "What?"

"When are you going to watch my practice? I mean since you did say I've visited you more than once already~"

"But that requires me to miss _my_ club time." You point out. "Considering I stick around after club time, you should know I value it quite a bit."

You waited for a whine from beside you but was taken aback by his scrunched up face that was actually trying to figure a way around it. You figure you shouldn't be all that surprised since he knew how much people value their club, being that he sticks around to practice as well.

After another few moments of contemplative thinking on his end, he finally speaks again. "Are there any days where you take time off from your club?"

You pause to think about your weekly schedule. You really didn't want to take a break even for a day, if you were to be completely honest. However, you knew another solution for getting out of an art slump was to take time off of it. You felt yourself cringe at the thought.

Time away from painting? Ridiculous.

"Uh, I'll get back to you on that okay Oikawa?" The option of taking a break still unnerved you. You worked so hard to practice those techniques, what happens when you jump back into it and realize all that effort you spent just dissolved?

Surprisingly, he didn't press any further. Instead he plants another one of his broad smiles on his face. "Well, I happen to take Mondays off so I can come see you then!" He ends it off with a wink that you didn't have time to process as to why he's going so out of his way. "Aren't you lucky?"

You scoff. "Aren't you getting a little full of yourself?"

"Ah, ah, it is just the right amount!" His smile stretches even wider. "Maybe even too little."

Shaking your head at his antics, you just give up. This guy had a lot of confidence and you actually didn't mind it anyway. It was pretty entertaining.

"Whatever you say."

"Hmm~ So you agree with me!"

"Don't put words in my mouth!"

"No need to lie my dear Rudolph-chan~"

"...."

Well you could go without the name.

Your stop is announced in the train and you ready yourself to stand up. "See you later Oikawa-san."

He raises his hand and waves as you stand. "Oh, don't forget to let me know when you decide to come visit practice!"

You give a hum of acknowledgement and a small nod at his comment before getting off the train. You turn around curiously back at the train to see Oikawa staring at you. When he noticed you looking back at him, he gave a little wink before the train started moving again. You let out a huff of amusement at this boy you managed to befriend.

Unbelievable. This guy was more than a little strange.

Turning back around, you begin to make your way home. Pondering to yourself, you wonder how in the world your routine was slowly crumbling before your very eyes in such a short amount of time.

But did you even mind?

You think a little more before finding an answer.

Not at all.


	4. Spontaneous Visits

"What do you mean you don't know if you're going to visit Oikawa's practice?" Ami gave you a look saying 'this is a big deal'. She lightly smacked your arm as her other hand was occupied by her little brother.

"Why is it a big deal?" Ami's brother wondered out loud.

You turn to him and shrug. "Who knows Souta."

Ami gives a frustrated sigh. "You're so hard to work with sometimes." She gave you a little glare before she perked back up again. "Oh! Actually, I'm pretty sure Hanamaki-kun is on the volleyball team!"

"Hanamaki-kun..?"

Another smack.

"The guy I was talking to you about! He's pretty quiet but I've managed to get a few more words out of him. If you won't go for Oikawa then go for me!" Her face began to form into that very convincing pout you couldn't reject.

"W-well, what about our own club?" Your voice wavers a little, trying to keep hold of the will you had.

She hummed in thought. "Hey wait, didn't you say you were in a slump? This is more of a reason as to why you should take a break! We can skip club today, okay?"

"Ah—" You wanted to retort but Ami walked off towards the daycare quickly with her little brother. "Bye Souta!"

You could hear him reply back in a little voice before he was whisked away inside. You pouted a little as you stood and waited for her outside. Wait...didn't he say to tell him when you were going to come visit him? You didn't know how he would react if you came in unannounced. Your thoughts were cut off by Ami's hand smacking your shoulder.

"So! As I was saying, today after school I'll wait by your room so we can go watch them practice okay?"

You opened your mouth to disagree but the look she was giving seemed that there was no room for objections. You sigh. You can go to the club room after their practice to get some work done.

"Ah, ah." Her finger wagged in front of you. "Don't even think about going to the club room after their practice! Today is a day of rest!"

You stiffened. That was not reassuring at all. Your brows furrowed in discontent trying to figure out not to go about the day completely empty handed. "At least let me bring my sketchbook to their practice then." 

Another look. 

"It's just sketching!" Your hands raise up in protest at her unconvinced expression.

She sighs in agreement. "Fine. There's no pulling you away from it completely even if I wanted to."

Grinning, you bump your shoulders to hers in a friendly gesture. "Thanks for understanding Ami."

"Yeah, yeah. Try to get the other guys away from Hanamaki-kun if I manage to talk to him though!"

"...I'm really not sure how much help I can be but I'll try."

"That's the spirit!"

~~

The school day comes to an end as your classmates start shuffling out of their seats and plans to go out after school are made. Packing your things, you try to shuffle out the door but the more rowdy boys in your class blocked the doorway, again. You knew one of the guys in the group since he was also in the art club.

"Excuse me guys," your face was unfazed by their antics, "kind of need to get through here."

"Oh, [Surname]-chan." Your fellow club member turns over to you. "Heading to the club room already?"

"Well, actually—" In the process of replying, another voice cut you off.

"Not today, Tadashi-kun! She has plans with me today!" Ami butts in from behind the group of the guys and nudges her way through to get to you.

"Wait, what?" Tadashi seemed genuinely confused by the news. "You're taking a break?"

You sigh. "Not really. Just not painting today."

Ami pouts, "well, you can't win them all." She proceeds to take your hand to pull you out of the group of guys blocking the way. "Tell us what happens in the club today Tadashi-kun! See you later!"

As soon as you guys were out in the hallway she lets out a sigh. "You're too polite [Name]!" Hitting your shoulder lightly, she continues, "Always trying to negotiate." She turns to you with a grin. "I had to push those guys just so we could get through!"

"Yeah, thanks Ami." You smile at her. She was a little rough, but it complimented your personalities pretty well. "Anyway, you got to point out who this guy is when we get there okay?"

She lets out a little shriek. "Oh right! What am I going to say to him if he talks to me?" She holds onto your arm for support. "And you'll spot him right away, he's quite tall."

"Aren't they all kind of tall?" You couldn't help wondering. "Plus, I don't have your crush vision Ami. You could probably spot him even from behind or if he changed his hairstyle."

"As if." She denies, looking to the side with a pout.

As you guys finally made it to your destination, you notice a group of girls by the door. You never actually paid much attention before, but you did have a good idea on who they were going to watch.

"Ugh, his fans." Ami stops a little ways away from the gym and stops you too.

"Wait, why did we stop?" You face her. "Are they not friendly?"

Ami looks up in thought. "Well, maybe. Since you got so close to Oikawa so quickly."

You shake your head. "I'm sure they're not bothered by that. I don't even know if can call ourselves friends to be honest." You guys just started talking only recently so you weren't sure if this would hold up yet. You start walking and turn to look back at Ami. "I'm not going for him today anyway, I'm going for you. So I hope you show me how this progress has been going!"

Ami smiles again and begins walking with you. "You'll be so surprised."

By this time, the group of girls have already made their way inside so you guys easily get to the door and open it.

Just by stepping into the gym, you felt a whoosh of air blow by your face and took in the aura.

This was just a practice day...right?

You're knocked out of your trance when Ami calls you over to the bleachers. "[Name]! C'mon, lets sit here!"

"Ah! Rudolph-chan came!" The voice was unmistakable.

Oikawa bounds over to you before you made it to the bleachers. "Hmm~ I told you to let me know when you were coming!" He pouts. "We're just doing drills today. I don't think that's all that fun to watch."

"Ah well, it was a spur of the moment actually..." You think back to your conversation with Ami in the morning.

"Heeh~ What made you do that—ACK!" You didn't see it, but you definitely felt a sudden burst of wind before a volleyball hit Oikawa square in the face. Your first instinct was be impressed by the precision of that ball but you noticed Oikawa was still holding his face with both his hands. "Iwa-chan I didn't do anything!"

"Practice isn't over yet Trashykawa!" His strong voice echoed in the gym.

Oikawa grumbles as he takes the volleyball and stands up to face you. His face...

You started laughing.

"E-eh? What is it?" His confused face made it even funnier.

"Y-your face..." You couldn't stifle your laughter. "I m-mean if I just had a red dot on my nose, you have a big red imprint on your face!"

His face suddenly turned horrified when he quickly put his hands back on his face, dropping the ball. "Iwa-chan look at what you have done!" He quickly turns away from you and rushes over to Iwaizumi. You see Oikawa drop his hands and point at his face to which Iwaizumi just smirks at and high fives his two other teammates.

You let out a snicker when you realize you figured out a perfect nickname to counteract his.

Sitting down by Ami, she nudges your side. "Hmm? Hmmm?" The implication of her tone was hard to ignore.

You just laugh. "Jeez, you can't just ship everything." You look back at the court and lean in closer to her. "Hey, where's the guy?"

She leans into you and also faces the court. "Okay. Tall. Short light brown hair."

You squint your eyes at the group of guys doing their drills. "Uh, the one who looks bored?" You felt a smack on your arm.

"That's his normal face!"

"I can see that you didn't deny it though..." You give her a slight glare before nursing your abused arm. It has been hit too often lately.

"Shh! It's his turn!" Her hands wave to the side to dismiss your comment and focuses intently on this Hanamaki guy.

You lean back and reach for your sketchbook. Opening it to a blank page, you place your pencil down and look at your surroundings. There were more people than you were expecting for just a practice day but you note most of those fans were there for a certain charismatic volleyball player.

Plus, those said fans seemed to glance at you every so often which made you unable to concentrate on working on an actual sketch. When you would glance up at them, they would quickly look away, talking amongst themselves. You raise your brow and notice that a couple of the girls in the group were some of your classmates. You shrug off the curious stares and start working on a sketch.

~~

Nearing the end of practice, Ami takes a break from ogling her crush and turns to look at your sketch. "Nice! But...uh...doesn't that look like Oikawa?"

Your pencil stops and you lean back to observe your work. It was a person with their back slightly arched and an arm in a move to smack down on a volleyball. Blinking at your work, you realize that the scene you saw of Oikawa practicing for the first time has etched itself in your memory. It was a moment in awe that you unconsciously documented. "Oh...I didn't even notice until you pointed it out." You shrug. "It was a nice serve though."

Ami shakes her head at you. "If you looked up, you would have seen it again." Glancing at it again she comments, "but that looks pretty accurate." Her ears perk up at the noise of them ending practice for the day and stands up resolutely. "Okay, I'm ready."

Smacking her back, your head nods over in the direction where the guy is at. "Make me proud."

You walk down with her but part ways as she heads towards her classmate Hanamaki. She effortlessly blends into a natural conversation with him and you see him responding to her from time to time. You shoot her an impressed look as she glances over and point your thumb towards the doors in a gesture to say 'I'll be going first'. She nods and returns to her conversation before Hanamaki turned around.

When you head towards the doors however, a hand clasps itself on your shoulder. "So, how was practice?" Oikawa shoots you a broad smile.

You didn't really want to lie to him so you honestly replied, "I actually wasn't paying attention much, as you can see..." Your head nods toward Ami. "We were on a bit of a mission."

Oikawa glances back in the direction you nodded at. "Oh~ I see!" You didn't even know his smile could get any bigger. But you could tell that his smile was not all that innocent.

"It's that look again." Your eyes narrowed at the seemingly innocent face he responded with. "Let them work it out on their own. Besides, it looks like it'll work out fine anyway."

Oikawa snorted. "He's a bit clueless in that department. I mean, all he can think about is beating Iwa-chan in an arm wrestling match."

You blinked. "Arm...wrestling?"

Oh boy. This might be harder than Ami anticipated.

Oikawa notices your face falling from his comment and speaks some more. "Well! I'll give little hints to my dear teammate so don't you worry about it!" He ends it with his usual wink. "I'm pretty good at getting a feel of the situation~"

You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes. "Hah, okay then. Thanks though." Looking behind him, you see his teammates cleaning up. "Um, aren't you going to help your team out? Since you might get another lovely red imprint right...here." You point at the center of his face and let out a laugh at his pouting expression.

"I'm going to practice a bit more but I'll help them clean up the things I won't be using." Oikawa starts to head back but swiftly turns back around again. "If you're not going to your club today, do you feel like sticking around some more? You know, since you didn't actually watch me practice."

"Uh..." You consider his invitation before you end up nodding. "Yeah, that's fine." Ami probably told the other members to lock the club room up for the day anyway. "I just have to get some things in my locker so I'll meet you back in here."

He grins. "Great! I'll be waiting then~" With that, he walks back to his teammates.

You turn back to the door that you've been having trouble opening with of all the interruptions and finally go through it.


	5. Extra Practice

Walking through the empty hallway on a mission to get to your locker, you pass by the art clubroom. Your hand clasps around the doorknob to turn it but…

Locked. Ah, it was worth a shot.

You sigh and continue on to your destination and grab your extra art tools. Placing them in your bag, your thoughts drift to why you haven’t done anything other than paint recently. The reason emerges in your head quite spontaneously but you dismiss it quickly.

No need to think about that right now.

You shake your head to rid yourself of those thoughts and make your way back to the gym more quickly than when you had left. Pushing open the doors to the gym, you quickly spot Oikawa in the room practicing intensely as usual.

He didn’t notice you enter so you quietly take a seat by the bleachers again and open your sketchbook. It flips to your most recent drawing that you almost forgot about. Getting a better look at it, you notice how it looks more and more like…

“Hey, that looks a little like me doesn’t it?”

You jump as he continues to peer over your shoulder. “…It could be anyone.” You lamely respond. Even you could tell there were striking features that only one volleyball player had.

“Hm~” He leans away and faces you with a smug smile. “You’re right. I’m pretty sure I’m more charming, don’t you think?”

You internally sigh in relief— you really had no good reason as to why you drew him. Well, you didn’t really want to tell him that you felt a little…just a little…in awe the first time you saw him practice. All you wanted right now was to change the conversation topic. “Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?”

He just hums in response as he walks back to the court in an almost smug manner. You could barely hear it, but you swear you heard, “I guess we’re even then~”

You blinked. What does that even mean?

~~

Once in a while, you glance up and see Oikawa doing the same technique you’ve seen every time you looked at him. With curious eyes, you decide to properly watch this technique he’s working on. Your eyes widened in surprise.

This guy was doing variations of said technique. They were similar, yes, but not the same. You felt a building respect for this volleyball icon. If you didn’t notice it then, you noticed it now.

This guy worked hard.

You couldn’t help but relate to him even though you knew close to nothing about volleyball. But the traits he possessed was something you felt easily connected to. You could feel it just from his actions. His face would scrunch up and then you’d see him tweak his actions slightly from the previous technique.

Always making steps to improve on every strike.

Glancing back at the other materials in your bag, your hands grasp the first thing it touches out of the bag and began to use it to start sketching in your book. Somehow, just by seeing his practice, you felt little bits of yourself return to you, those little pieces fighting against the slump you didn’t realize you limited yourself on.

You probably wouldn’t tell Ami, but it was a good call on not going to the clubroom today.

~~

“So…” He stretches the word and grins at you. “What did you think?”

You shake your head a little at his cocky tone before responding. “Well, you did a good job keeping me entertained.” You couldn’t hold down the impressed tone in your voice.

He starts humming as he walks with you to the train station. “I guess this means I’ll come visit you next then!”

Glancing at him, you’re suddenly aware that it is in fact Friday today. “Oh right, you take Mondays off.” You pause. “Why is it that you take a day off?”

His hums come to an abrupt stop and you cringe at the thought of hitting a now very obvious landmine. “Ah…well~” his voice still sounded cheery, but there was something else embedded in that tone that you didn’t particularly like. You didn’t have the heart to let him finish his sentence.

“Hm~ You’re one of those ‘go hard or go home’ types huh?” You put emphasis by using your little air quotes. “I can respect that.”

His usual smile returns. “I prefer ‘if you’re going to hit it, hit it until it breaks’.”

That comment solidified that he did indeed have some sort of injury.

“You might as well put philosopher on your lists you can be…” You realize you haven’t presented your very well thought out nickname for him yet. “…Spotty.”

“Yeah...well…” He was about to respond to your comment when he noticed the very new, very unfitting name you just called him. “What was that?”

You couldn’t contain your smug grin. “Since you seem to have a big red spot right around…here.” Your hand gestures to his whole face. “Doesn’t it seem so fitting?”

When you saw his eye twitch you felt yourself fill up with pride. “It most definitely does not!” He shoots you an unimpressed stare. “That sounds like a dog’s name.”

“Well…” You imply nonchalantly.

“Hey!” His face morphs into an offended expression.

“I didn’t say anything!” You raise your hands up in defense.

“But you implied it!” He pouts.

You decide to throw the final blow. “I did no such thing, Spotty!”

“…”

You could feel a smug grin rest itself on your face. How does it feel to be on the other side of the fence Oikawa?

Ah, justice was finally served.

~~

He was still pouting about it when you guys got on the train. You breathe out heavily. “Calm down, I’m not going to call you that too often Oikawa-san. You know, unlike some people.” You slip in.

“But at least mine is pretty good.” He muttered.

You could feel your patience running thin from his childish attitude. It was definitely not because he still thinks Rudolph is a more creative nickname. “I want to object to that notion but it seems like this conversation won’t come to a close.”

“Heh~ So you finally agree with me.” How he managed to bounce back like that, you would never know.

“As if.” You look inside your bag for a distraction and see that you have packed a slice of milk bread with your name on it. Then you look up in Oikawa’s general direction. Did you even want to share it with him anymore? Your decision was cut short when you felt Oikawa lean over to see what you were contemplating about.

“Eh~ Wait…were you just thinking about not sharing that with me?!” He exclaims.

You didn’t meet his eyes which seemed to be enough of an answer for him.

“Ah! This and that are totally different!” As he blurts out many uncohesive reasons, you sigh and just take the milk bread out of the ziplock and rip it into two.

Before you pass it over to him, you first hold it out of his reach. “This is not because I finally agree with ‘Rudolph’. It’s just that you worked hard in practice today so cheers.” Passing it over to him, you and Oikawa once again tap your pieces of bread together like you’re clinking wine glasses.

“You know, we should actually do this with wine glasses one day.”

“One step at a time Oikawa-san. We have to level up to pop cans first.”


	6. A New Angle

As Monday rolled around, you almost forgot about Oikawa sticking around to hang out with you in your club until he called you out in the hallway.

“Rudolph-chan!”

You keep walking.

“Rudolph!” You notice he doesn’t seem to be letting up and people were starting to stare. You took a deep breath to calm yourself before you finally faced him. “Finally! Did you not hear me?”

Your eyes narrowed at him. He knew exactly why you didn’t want to turn around and he was playing dumb. “I guess not. What did you need?”

“Oh, I was just reminding you that I’ll be visiting your club after my practice is finished!”

You raise your brow. “I thought you didn’t practice on Mondays?”

He gives you his usual smile. “Oh I don’t, but I still watch on the sidelines to stay informed.”

“Oh, okay.” You weren’t all that surprised. You knew he was pretty dedicated to the sport. “See you after then.” You begin to turn back around to go to your original destination.

“Oh!” He calls out. “And leave the door open!”

You just wave back dismissively at his comment, hoping to not stir anymore commotion.

~~

You didn’t notice that talking with Oikawa was a bad thing until you saw the situations it lead to.

One, the girls in your class seemed to have decided you didn’t exist over the weekend.

Two, your desk didn’t look that messy when you left it.

Your brows furrowed in thought. You only knew of things like this happening in mangas but you didn’t know these gestures of bullying were real and very in your face. You felt more confused than upset at the situation, really. I mean, doing this seems like more effort than actually just talking to the guy and from those few interactions with him, he would more than happily welcome more girls in his arms. Having no thoughts on how to solve this unneeded dispute as of now, you just begin by cleaning off your desk almost absentmindedly, brainstorming solutions. You were interrupted by a couple pairs of hands that began helping you. Looking up, you see Oikawa’s friend Iwaizumi and your art club member Tadashi.

“Man, girls are scary.” Tadashi muttered as he helped you organize your papers.

“That idiot…” Iwaizumi grumbles under his breath, taking a napkin and wiping down some unflattering words written on your desk.

“Uh…” You were taken aback by their sudden appearance before you composed yourself again. “Thanks guys, but I can take it from here.” You hold out one hand for the papers Tadashi organized and the other hand for the napkin Iwaizumi was using. They seemed unconvinced by leaving you as is until you shot them a confident smile, a smile that showed that this definitely had not brought you down. They then went ahead and gave you your papers and a napkin to clean the rest of your desk.

As you finished fixing up your desk, you sat down and began to observe who would have the drive to pull a stunt like this.

It doesn’t take long for you to see a couple of the same girls you saw with Ami huddled around the desk. The same girls who seemed to glance back at you once in a while as they did back in the gym were looking at you with such distaste that you didn’t notice was possible until now.

Well, mystery one solved.

You looked back down and continued to brainstorm in your head.  The main thing was the fact that their strength was in numbers. If you could weaken the foundation that seemed to spur their actions, this unnecessary dispute will be resolved. Now the second mystery would be figuring out what that foundation is…

~~

Classes went by normally, you taking your notes diligently as usual. As the lunch bell rang, you saw the group of girls walk out of the room and you were about to follow them until Ami popped by.

“[Name]!” She rushes over. “I heard what happened.”

You sigh. “I was hoping to resolve it before it got out of hand.”

“I’ll get the person who did it!” She shakes her fist angrily.

Your head snaps to her. “Wait, so no one knows who it is?”

Ami blinks confusedly. “No? Wait, do you know?!” She grips your shoulders, “tell me so I can give them a piece of my mind.”

You shake your head. “No, I don’t know.” If no one knew who the culprit was, you would keep it in the wraps. You had the confidence that you’d resolve it before it got out of hand. “Anyway Ami, I’ll meet you at the rooftop but I need to go to the washroom first.”

Still unconvinced, Ami begins to walk slowly out the door. “You seem to know what you’re doing [Name] but if they hurt you again, I’m stepping in no matter what you say!”

You nod nonchalantly. “It won’t come to that, promise.” You flick your wrist in her direction gesturing her to ‘shoo’. “I’ll be right back.”

She shakes her head before she fully walks out the door. “I’ll be waiting!”

~~

You manage to find the girls and a few new faces by the stairs and walk over to them. “Hey.”

Some of them don’t even look up and the ones that did made no move to mask the distaste in their expression. “Oh look, it’s [Name], or should we say ‘Rudolph-chan’?”

You felt your eye twitch at the name. You definitely did not want that one to spread either. But never mind that now, you were on a mission. “Could I at least know why?”

One of the girls which you guessed was the leader snorted. “Why should we explain ourselves to you?” She starts laughing and soon a couple of the girls join in. “We didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah, I’m offended you would even think that Rudolph!” Another girl pipes in.

You scratch your head in thought as you try to form a response that got to the bottom of things without being too passive. “I’ve noticed that you guys have been on edge with my presence lately. It would be easier for the both of us just to get everything out in the open.” You give them a hard stare. “Let me start.”

“This situation between us doesn’t solve anything unless both parties know what the actual problem is.” Your form never falters as you continue talking. “I don’t mind if you don’t like me but going to such lengths that it starts to become everyones problem is something I do mind.”

She raises her head in a motion to signify that she was looking down on you. “The problem is simple really.” Her hand gestures in your direction.

You raise your brow. “Well, yes, we established that. What about me though?”

You’re answered by mocking laughs and gasps of disbelief. “As if you don’t know.” One girl snidely remarks in.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t so that’s why I asked.” You sigh at their attempt at mind games.

The leader stands on the step and once again makes herself seem like the bigger person. “Why would Oikawa like a girl like you?” Her eyes looked you once over in displeasure.

You just blinked at their response. “Oh, that’s because we’re friends. You wouldn’t hang out with someone if you didn’t like their company, right?”

Apparently, that response wasn’t what they wanted to hear at all and they started to form a circle around you, trying to make you feel isolated. It didn’t faze you. As you noted before, their strength was in numbers.

You turn to the girls in your class. “Oikawa-san is a great guy so there is no reason to blow this up out of proportion. He likes talking with you guys so isn’t it better to focus your energy on someone you do like?” You see their looks falter and press on. “This time might be better spent cheering him on?”

“We do cheer him on!” Your classmate snaps back.

“Yeah! The loudest as we can be!” Your other classmate responds to her friend after a moment.

“Exactly.” You give them a smile. “Don’t you think he notices that? He loves the support and he’d probably enjoy that you’re around him more than me.” The circle around you starts to loosen up, cracks beginning to form between them. “As I said before, if you don’t like me that’s fine by me but lets just drop this unnecessary dispute and go for things we actually want to.”

Your classmates drop their stances and sigh resignedly. They part their circle so you could get out of the stifling inner circle. “Agreed.”

The leader, still displeased with you just snorts in response but you could tell that you don’t have to worry about anything else coming from this group. “Today never happened.” She glances at you and gives you a hard stare. “Don’t tell Oikawa.”

You just nod at her comment. “Didn’t plan to. This is a problem between us.” As the conversation came to a close, you turned from them and began walking off.

It didn’t matter who did or didn’t like you. What mattered to you was that you considered Oikawa a friend and no one would stop you from being just that.

Reaching back into the more crowded halls, you make your way to the rooftop.

~~

When you get to your canvas, you could see what else they managed to get to before you spoke with them. There was paint streaks that you knew you didn’t put on it, making your original subject unrecognizable. For a lack of better words, it was sabotaged.

“[Name]…” Ami put a gentle hand on your shoulder.

Oikawa was right about one thing. This and that are totally different things.

You shake your head and take deep breaths. You had been working on this for a while and it just… “I’m going to walk around for a bit.”

Turning away from the canvas, you make your way out the door.

Even though the dispute was solved, you forgot about the repercussions. You knew you were relieved that it was behind you now but it didn’t mean that you weren’t upset by it all.

Making your rounds around the school, you pass by the open gym and spot Oikawa sitting by the sidelines like he said. He seemed completely focused, almost as if he himself was still practicing with his team.

You pause to ponder at your thoughts just now. Here was Oikawa, not letting his injury get him down and you were sulking about a picture you knew you could paint better anyway. You smile at the revelation.

You saw the team starting to clean up and realize that their practice was done for the day.

“Ah Ru--[Surname]-chan!” Oikawa calls out from the gym. He starts walking over to you. “You decided to walk me to your club today? Ah~ Aren’t I lucky?”

He definitely heard about what happened today. You couldn’t help but feel irked by his change of character. Pity wasn’t something you appreciated, even if it got him out of calling you Rudolph. “Uh, yeah. But shouldn’t you help clean up first?” You point to his teammates who were doing just that.

“Well I technically didn’t practice today so lets go!” He starts walking first and urges you to follow him.

“Some captain you are.” You retort.

“Only the best.” He grins at you.

When you guys make it back to the clubroom you usher him to one of the empty seats by your canvas. He passes by your canvas with an unreadable expression.

“This is interesting.”

“Ah that.” You walk over to it and begin setting up your paints on the palette. “It’s not finished yet.”

“Is that so?” His brow rises at your comment.

“Hm.” You hum dismissively at him. “Watch and learn.” You turn the canvas away from him and begin applying different colors and merging techniques together. You completely immersed yourself that you forgot that Oikawa was still in the room until you heard him occasionally shift in his seat.

“And…” You put the finishing touches to your canvas. “…done!” You actually felt proud of this work, incorporating colors you didn’t think about putting together and merged a lot of the techniques you’ve been practicing on.

You smile and decide to share with him the revelation that he unknowingly helped out on. “Let me tell you something,” You speak up, making him look up from his phone. “A little setback never hurt anyone.” You grin a little. “All it does is make it even better because you find a new angle to work in.” You turn the canvas over so he could see it. You look at his face to gauge a reaction and find that it is yet again another face you can’t decipher. Different from the first time he saw the canvas but still unreadable nonetheless.

“Uh…What is that look for?” Your curiosity won out today.

He glances at you, the expression not leaving his face. “Hm, nothing. I just noticed something interesting.” He reaches down and grabs his water bottle from his bag. “I’m going to refill this so I’ll be right back.”

“Um okay.” You were confused by the ambiguity he was emitting right now.

As he walks out of the door you hear him say, “thanks, [Surname]-chan”.

You just sat in your seat, still confused.

Thanks for what exactly?


	7. Your Volleyball

Your arms reached out and tossed the volleyball up into the air clumsily. Now, you definitely did not plan for this to happen. All you planned to do that day was watch Oikawa practice on your day off that week and get more inspiration. That is, until Oikawa asked a seemingly innocent question in your general direction while he was practicing.

“Hey, have you played volleyball before?”

You should’ve lied, you should’ve said anything other than what you replied with after a beat.

“No, not really.”

You were about to return to your sketchbook until a volleyball landed right in between the pages of your book. “That’s quite an aim you got there, Oikawa-san.” You lean up to see his scheming expression uneasily as you take the volleyball from your sketchbook and reach out to pass it to him. “Here you go?”

His expression seems to magnify even more after he speaks. “Oh no you don’t Rudolph-chan! We have to change that as soon as possible!” He slaps both of your hands which are still holding onto the ball and drags you toward the court.

“I’m sure there’s a better time—” You try to reason before he cuts you off.

“No time better than the present!” He winks at you for effect. “I promise you’ll have fun~”

Your eyes narrow at his broad smile. After all the times you’ve spent with him, you’ve noticed that he had little differences in his usual smile given the situation. This one had a hint of amusement.

You sigh. “If you start making fun of me we’re both going back to what we were originally doing.”

He nods dismissively at your warning. “Sure, sure.”

You exhale through your nose and reach out your hands with the volleyball to pass it to him but he doesn’t take it from your hands. “Wait, you can’t expect me to start?!”

He grins. “Actually, I do!” He comes over and guides your hands and arms up into a toss. “Just pass it up like that, I promise I can return it back to you.”

You huff. “Yeah, but I can’t. This will be a really boring one-sided pass.”

He shakes in disagreement at your comment. “Less talking, more trying.” He starts walking further away to make distance for you to pass. “Try getting it over here.”

“Okay…” Your brows furrowed as you tried to remember to keep your arms and hands as they were. You toss the ball up a little to test it before tossing it over in his direction.

As promised, he returns that clumsy toss perfectly and sets it over in your way. To your surprise, you notice that receiving his sets were easier than you thought.

A few more tosses and the first game of pass ends as Oikawa catches the ball. He was panting slightly, his face flushed from all the running.

That’s when it occurred to you that you have stayed in the exact same spot the entire time, not breaking a sweat. You were having so much fun passing the ball with Oikawa that it didn’t even occur to you that he was working on overdrive just so you could pass back and forth.

Your eyes blinked up towards him in realization as this wasn’t the only time he did this. He would go out of his way just to connect with people, in volleyball and out of volleyball. It was just how he was.

“Hey~ Rudolph! Want to go for another round?” Oikawa calls from the other end of the gym after he grabbed a drink of water.

You grin. “Yeah!”

It seems that your respect for Oikawa decided to grow a little more today.

~~

After a few more rounds of tossing the ball around, you guys sat on the bench both visibly tired.

“Hah~ That was a good practice! I should’ve done this with you sooner!” Oikawa gives you a broad smile. “So, did you have fun~?”

You roll your eyes at his question because you both obviously knew what the answer was. “I wouldn’t have played more than one game if it wasn’t, wouldn’t I?” You glance at him from the corner of your eye. “You certainly kept your promise.”

He seemed to brighten up at that comment. “I did, didn’t I?” He nudges your side. “Make it be known that Oikawa Tōru keeps his promises!”

You laugh. “The moment someone praises you you’re over the moon.” You nudge him back. “C’mon, we have to go or else we’ll miss the train.”

He nods before smiling at you mischievously. “As it so happens that I didn’t practice on my own…” He trails off for added effect but you somehow knew where he was leading it up to. “You have to help me clean up Miss Accomplice!”

“Figures.” You stand up and brush off the dirt on your clothes from the bleachers. “I like that nickname better though!”

He winks. “Maybe if you practice with me more, I’ll use that as default one day.”

You just walk past him to start cleaning up. “Don’t you drive a hard bargain, Oikawa-san?”

He follows your actions a moment later. “Well, I still like Rudolph-chan the best!”

“Less talking, more working Spotty!”

~~

Oikawa tilts his screen over to show you a picture on his phone as you guys were making your way to the station. “Hey, take a look at this!”

You study the photo, intrigued. “That’s a really good shot actually.” It was a picture of the sunrise right at its peak. “When was this?”

He shrugs. “I don’t remember. It was early in the morning though.”

“Oh, so morning practice?” As you hung out with him, it was brought more and more to your attention how much volleyball revolved around him. Not that you had anything against it, you were the same way with art.

He hums to affirm your question.

“Hey…could you send that to me?” Ideas started sprouting in your head as soon as you saw the photo.

He turns to you with a teasing smile. “That means we’ll be sharing numbers then~” He pulls out his phone. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind but would you?”

You reply back unfazed by his usual teasing. “Well I want the picture so the rest is irrelevant.”

He pouts. “My number is very relevant!” He holds out his hand. “Where’s your phone?”

You sigh and pass it over to him. He quickly turns his focus towards it and punches in his number before holding it in front of your face.

“There! You better not forget it!”

“As long as it’s in my phone, I’m sure I won’t.” Your eyes zoom into the name above the number. “Uh…The Grand King?”

He beams. “That’s me!” His ego was so big right now and all you wanted to do was pop it, or at least deflate it a bit.

You take the phone from him. “…Denied. I’m changing it to Spotty.” You snicker when you hear him gasp in horror. “Thanks for the photo~”

You hear him sputter incoherent words for a couple more moments before he responds in words you can understand. “Well I’m putting your name as Rudolph in my phone!”

You shake your head. “I’ve heard it so many times before so you can’t even use that name against me anymore.”

You just heard him grumble in response to let you know you have once again won this round.

Rudolph: 2

Spotty: 0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  Sorry this took a while to get out, I've had to scrap the original timeline of the story since last chapter! Continuity issues and all that jazz...  
> Anyway, I will be updating once a week Saturdays or Sundays from this point! This info is also on my about me on my profile if you want the actual date  
> Thanks for the support with this story!


	8. Friends

“Hey Rudolph, what do you think about this?”

“Hm?” You turn away from the canvas and look over at a video on Oikawa’s phone. Your eyes widened. “This game looks completely one-sided!” Your eyes trail over to one of the players who seemed to take center stage. “Who’s that?”

Oikawa looks over at who you’re pointing at. “Hm~ That’s Ushiwaka-chan, Shiratorizawa’s ace.”

You take in the new information and continue watching the game, your stomach feeling more unsettled as you notice the gap between the two teams. “Is that who you’re going to face?”

When you face him, the look on his face seemed to answer it. His face held a mixture of different emotions and the only one you could identify was that he was very much looking forward to this game.

You can now see why he had been having extra practices recently. The same extra practices which lead you guys to befriend each other.

As excited as he was, you could notice that he started to lose himself while he was watching the videos, and not in the good way. You put your hand over his shoulder to make him look up at you. “I’m done for the day, lets go.”

As if he knew what you were asking him to do, he sighs and pockets his phone a few moments later. “Just give me a second, I need to grab something real quick.” You nod as he stands up and grabs his bag.

“I’ll wait for you at the entrance then.” You follow him out the door and close it. He makes a noise of acknowledgement that he heard it before you part ways.

~~

The following morning seemed like a mess. One moment you’re having your usual walk to school with Ami until there’s a six foot tall high school boy clutching onto you for his dear life.

“Rudolph! I lost my phone!” He whines as Ami shoots you a look from the side that said ‘we’re talking about _this_ later’. _This_ meaning how he was clutching onto you as a lifeline.

“Well, when did you last see it?” You hastily pry him off you in attempts to gain some of your pride back.

“That’s the thing! The last time I saw it was when I was showing you the video yesterday!” His voice goes up a few notches higher in a more childish tone. “I can’t live without my phone~”

You roll your eyes and see Iwaizumi coming up from behind him. “Hey Trashykawa it’s your own fault, don’t bring [Surname]-san into this.”

You rack your memory about what the phone looked like before an image pops into your head. “No, that’s okay Iwaizumi-san, I’ll look for it too. It might have just dropped in the art clubroom.” You think a little more. “Oh, but before we left you said you needed to grab something so you might have dropped it there too.” You turn to him and shrug.

He beams at your response. “You’re the best Rudolph-chan! I totally forgot about that!”

“Well, if it’s solved for now, lets start walking again!” Ami interjected. You look around to see more and more people forming around you four in an audience. “Chop chop, time to walk!”

As soon as Iwaizumi manages to pull a whining Oikawa away from you, Ami sticks to your side like a magnet. “When did you guys get _that_ close?” She gave you a teasing look.

You just sigh and brush her off. “Wasn’t he always like that to people?”

Ami shakes her head. “No, not at all! You guys seem to be pretty good friends now though!” She nudges your side. “Maybe I should stay after school more often and grab myself a nice looking guy too!”

“What? Don’t you have that guy you’ve been pining over? What was his name again…” You look up in thought. “…Uh, Hanamato-san?”

Soon after, you are met with a swift blow to the arm.

“It’s Hana _maki_ -kun!” She pouts. “And don’t change the subject! There’s something going on with you two!” Her eyes narrow at you, trying to study your relationship with Oikawa.

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, it’s called friendship.” You nudge her side. “As I said before, you can’t just ship everything.” Not wanting to deal with this topic anymore, you walk ahead of her to get to your class. “I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

As you walk off, Ami stays back and just snorts at your response. “My ships always sail!”

~~

After school ended, you talked to Iwaizumi before he left for practice to let Oikawa know that you’ll check out if his phone is in the art clubroom. He nods in confirmation to let you know that he’ll relay the message.

“You’re too nice to him, [Surname]-san. If he gets babied too much, he’ll never grow up,” he mutters.

You laugh. “I guess in most aspects he’s really childish but he grows up on matters that count.” You start thinking back to the times when he provided support for you...and all those times when he'd come whining to you like a little kid. 

Iwaizumi stares at you for a moment before chuckling. “Thanks for sticking around and being his friend.” He pats your shoulder lightly. "He can be such a handful."

You shake your head. “No, the feeling is mutual, he’s a good friend.” You give him a teasing smile. "Even if he is a handful."

Iwaizumi’s brows rise in surprise. “Well, you’d be the first to verbally say that.” He shoots a teasing smile back in your direction.

 “I guess you internally agree with me then?” You gave him a knowing smile.

He chuckles, “can’t say I do.” He turns from you to indicate he was going to go to practice now. “See you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Iwaizumi-san!” You raise up your hand halfway to say goodbye before you walk off to your own destination.

When you finally got to the art clubroom, you survey the surroundings. You had arrived first and took the time to walk around the whole room, checking out the places you assumed Oikawa was fluttering around at while you were painting.

You texted his phone and you could hear it vibrating. A few more tries later and you finally notice the sun’s rays aim itself right onto a reflective object, the said object a gleaming beacon of hope. You walk towards it and sigh in relief. It’s a phone alright. Picking it up, you study it, trying to figure out if his phone looked like this or not. It would be really awkward if it was just one of your club members phones they left here for the moment as they grabbed something. You click the home button and your doubt is cleared.

It’s Oikawa’s alright. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the photo on his lock screen. There was Oikawa, a smile so wide you wondered if his face would split, and a dark haired boy whom you assumed was younger bowing towards him.

Well, Oikawa will be Oikawa.

Another thing you noticed was that the name he saved with your number wasn’t Rudolph at all. Because of all those texts you sent his phone, you saw your own name bounce right back at you. 

[Name].

If anything, you were confused by the name he chose. Your surname wasn’t attached to it either… This just made it even more questionable.

Not knowing what to think of it, you close the lock screen and pocket the phone for safekeeping. You would definitely ask him about that later on today.

~~

“Rudolph-chan! Did you see it?!” Oikawa bursts into your room after his practice.

“Hello to you too.” You stuff your hand in your pocket and take his phone out from him to see. “I guess someone did drop their phone in here.”

“I thought I was a goner when I couldn’t find it at that other place you mentioned!” He runs over to you and quickly takes his phone from your hands, cradling it. “You’re a lifesaver!”

You nod nonchalantly and continue painting as you listen to him chatter on about how great you are for finding it. “Yes, yes, and don’t you forget it.”

After that, Oikawa died down and you assumed to reply to the texts he missed out on. Once he sets his phone down and sighs in relief only then do you speak up.

“So…I guess you didn’t call me Rudolph on your phone?” You try to subtly slip in.

His head snaps towards you after a beat of processing what you just said. “Ah! You saw!”

You arch your brow at his surprised voice. “Of course I saw! I was texting your phone so I could find it!” You huff. “You were gracious enough to leave that nickname out of your phone though, why can’t you just call me by my name?”

He pouts. “But [Surname]-chan is so bland—”

“—Excuse me?” You interjected. “So my first name isn’t as bland?”

He winks. “Hm, it suits you~” His smile morphs into a teasing grin. “I didn’t realize you like being called Rudolph so much~”

You shoot him a glare. “Don’t put words in my mouth Spotty.”

He cringes a little at his own nickname and looks away from you. “…Anyway, don’t friends have nicknames for each other?”

You look at him for a moment before you sit back and contemplate his words. Yeah, you guys were friends. You can’t stop the smile that sneaks up on your face.

Oikawa considered you as a friend from the very beginning.

And frankly, even if you weren’t aware of it before, you considered him one too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *raise hands* who else here is an Ami? I love seeing people get together lol their stories make me go ahhh  
> Thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoy this weeks chapter! Feel free to share your thoughts on the story so far! Until next week (:


	9. Portraits

You’re pulled out of your trance when the door to the art clubroom once again makes a loud creak. You sigh and turn to the regular intruder standing by the door with a pout on his face.  
  
“Rudolph~ Why is this door always closed?” He whines as he walks into the room. “You always stop what you’re doing when I come in!”  
  
You roll your eyes at his usual act. “Isn’t that nice for you? My attention all goes to you for that one tiny moment.”  
  
You can see him hesitate for a moment at your response before he speaks up again. “Well that is nice but…”  
  
You just huff out a sigh to cut him off another one of his complaining tangents before you start clearing up your materials. “Since you’ve decided to crash here I assume it’s time to go?”  
  
He glances at you after his contemplation with whatever complaint he was going on about to you a moment ago and nods. “Yeah! I finished first this time, aren’t I such a good friend?”  
  
When you see him do his usual wink you grab your paint palette and pass it to him. “I’m sure an even _better_ friend can help me clean up since he’s the best, hey?”  
  
He grumbles at your response but does it anyway. “I am the best…”

~~

“Hey~ Guess whose picture this is!” Oikawa once again shows me another photo on his phone but this time the subject is very familiar…  
  
“How did you even take that?” You quirk your brow at him. It was your finished painting from a while back when his fans did some…adjustments to it.  
  
 “Hm well~” He hums, “the same way I took this!” He shows you another photo on his phone which makes your jaw hang open a little. “Ah, ah, ah Rudolph~” His finger goes under your chin, inching it upwards to close your mouth. “Flies might come in.”  
  
Was this the reason why he was so nonchalant about the sketch you drew of him? Now you knew what he meant by ‘I guess we’re even then~’.  
  
You snap your head up to face him with a glare. “Y-you…” You stop for a moment to compose yourself. That photo…It was a picture of you that first day you guys started talking—your Rudolph nose and all its glory. What irked you even more was that smug smirk planted on his face upon your flustered expression. “Why do you have that?” You try to take his phone to delete the picture but he just holds it high above his head so you don’t reach. “Why did you even show me that?!”  
  
He shrugs. “You weren’t paying attention to my complaints and…” He flicks your forehead lightly, making you step back a little. “Your expression right now is priceless. The only other time I’ve seen this face was when we talked for the first time.” A smug smirk takes over his face. “Like a fish out of water…” He dangles his phone in front of you. “Like a deer in headlights…”  
  
You noticed there were hints of this taunting personality here and there but it was definitely out in the open now. This was another side of Oikawa, right before your very eyes. You weren’t sure how to deal with it since your friendship mostly consisted of playful banter. You thought back as to what might have triggered it.  
  
Coming up with nothing, you decided to figure it out on a later time. First you needed to figure out another way to get rid of that picture…  
  
The gears in your mind kept turning until it finally clicked with an idea and you quickly dug through your bag to pull out your sketchbook that held that sketch of Oikawa. “Then lets do a trade!” You open your sketchbook and carefully rip out the page, dangling it in front of his face. “You can have this sketch if I can have that photo.”  
  
He contemplates on your compromise for a moment before nodding. “Deal.” He takes the sketch from your hands and then focuses on his phone as he sent you the picture.  
  
You feel your phone vibrate and you look to see that Oikawa has kept his word. “Okay, now delete it.”  
  
He looks at you smugly. “Hm~ That wasn’t part of the deal, was it?” He smirks at the gaping expression that you once again have.  
  
“Oikawa-san!” You try reaching for his phone again but to no avail.  
  
“Oikawa.” His eyes catch onto yours and you could feel your next words catch on your throat at his unfamiliar tone.  
  
“What?” You stop your movements for the moment and look at him questioningly.  
  
He pays no mind to your confused expression. “Call me Oikawa, okay?” He gives you a little wink and tops it off with a light poke on your forehead before he starts walking again.  
  
You instinctively reach up and cover your forehead from future attacks. “Maybe I will if you delete that picture…” Suddenly, a thought came to you. “Wait…You didn’t by any chance… _show_ anyone that picture did you?” You felt yourself cringe when you saw him flinch at the question. “Ah! Who did you show?!”  
  
He turns to you with a sheepish grin. “Just a few friends…”  
  
You grimaced. His version and your version of a few were substantially different. “…Few as in?”  
  
“Well…Iwa-chan…” He trails off.  
  
Your eyes widened. Is that why he laughed that time he looked at you when Oikawa mentioned what happened to you? You took a deep breath. Well if it’s just Iwaizumi…  
  
“—and maybe the volleyball team…” You realized he wasn’t finished yet. But you weren’t even surprised anymore.  
  
You put up your hand halfway to halt him from speaking further. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.” You were a little upset that he would show people a picture of you in what you considered an embarrassing moment. Turning away from him, you just walk away so you wouldn’t blow up at him.  
  
“Aw Rudolph-chan!” You hear him call out as he catches up to you. You pay it no mind and ignore him.  
  
That is, until he successfully stops you in your tracks by gripping your wrist. “Please don’t be upset…” His voice resembled a little kid whose just gotten scolded by their parents, which in this case, is not far from the truth. “You might find it embarrassing but I find it a really good memory.”  
  
Your head snaps towards him, frustrated. “How is that a good memory?”  
  
He pays no mind to your sharp tone and gives you a broad smile with his usual wink. “Isn’t that the very reason we became friends?”  
  
Your frustration for him started to die down once his words started to seep into your brain. You didn’t take Oikawa as the sentimental type but here it was in all its glory. You sigh and let your arm fall limp in his grasp, signaling he was forgiven. “…Just don’t show anymore photos of me without my consent, okay? And no candid shots of me either!” He nods vigorously and you pull him to the direction of the station—you guys have derailed from the path a lot today. “C’mon Spotty.”  
  
It’s mostly quiet the rest of the way back until Oikawa’s arm slips his way around your shoulder. “Hey, hey, tell you what!” He glances at you from the corner of his eye before looking ahead again. “I’ll make it up to you by sending you a picture of all the pretty scenes I see from now on!”  
  
You quirk your brow at his proposition since you had an idea on how he worked already. “That excludes your selfies, Oikawa.”  
  
“Che, you caught me~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That early morning update though woohooo  
> Points to you if you noticed the chapters I referenced in this one! *cough* 2 & 5 *cough*  
> Thanks for being patient with me about the weekly updates! Have a nice week everyone<3


	10. To Win

Another Monday had passed and you noticed that Oikawa has once again not visited the art club room. You had an idea on where else he could be but maybe he wanted to be alone? You shook your head of those thoughts. No, he shouldn't even be practicing on a Monday!  
  
Making up your mind, you trudge out of your club room a couple minutes earlier to see where that childish guy might be up to.  
  
You weren't wrong with your guess. There Oikawa was, breaking his no practice on Monday rule, practicing even harder than he did on other days. He notices you walk in but doesn't greet you. You just sigh at his stubborn attitude. You'd ask him about his recent attitude when you guys start walking home. But for now…  
  
You make yourself at home on one of the bleachers and take your sketchbook out. Just so when he does feel like talking again, you’d be there to hear him out.  
  
From time to time, you’d look up from the bleachers to check up on Oikawa’s practice. You frowned. His movements were stiff and you could see that he was trying new moves that he hadn’t built enough foundation for. He was trying to prefect everything, like there was this huge hurdle he had to jump before time ran out. It was a feeling you knew all too well. But since you did know that feeling, you knew that trying to make him stop practice for the day would do him more harm than good. You sighed. Just for today, you’ll let him practice.  
  
For the rest of your practice, you sketched in your book, trying to figure your words out for when you talk to him. As reckless as he may be, he would shut you out the moment you start scolding him. He was smart enough to know the damage he was putting on himself but there was something even more important that let him go past that. And that’s what you’ll be trying to figure out.

~~

"So…I'm assuming there’s a big game coming up soon?" You speak up as Oikawa turns to you with a hint of surprise in his face. You were right, he probably expected you to scold him on practicing on a day he wasn't supposed to.  
  
He gives you a hint of a grateful smile. "Yeah, and we're going to win." His face looks so excited and a little anxious at the upcoming game. His voice drops at his following words. “And put someone in their place.”  
  
Your head tilts up in thought. "Hm, could it be that crazy super ace you showed me in that video before?"  
  
He shoots you an annoyed look. "The ace," he corrected, "won't be so super after the game." He jabs his thumb up his chest. "Our team is going to win."   
  
You couldn't help the smile sliding into your face at his confidence in him and his teammates. You wish you could support him in some way too... Oh wait...  
  
"Hey Oikawa, when is your game?" You were sure there was more than enough people cheering for the team but you wanted to do what little you can nonetheless. Plus you feel like Ami would make you go with her to cheer on her crush Hanamaki…"So I could, you know, maybe help cheer you on..."  
  
You were met with a beaming smile, relieving the nervousness of the question you asked previously.  "Rudolph! You shouldn't have!"  
  
You roll your eyes. "Always making a big deal of things I see..." You turn to him with a grin. "That team you're facing is going to have a run for their money." He seemed pretty happy with your comment.  
  
But you had a couple more questions swimming in your mind. "Any reason why you’re more riled up than usual for one of your games?” The look he gave you at that question make your blood run cold. "...Oikawa?"  
  
"It's simple really," he gives you a nonchalant shrug, "I hate geniuses." He catches your gaze, making you unable to pull your eyes away from him.  
  
Honestly, that comment made you less uneasy than you assumed. Mostly because you understood it way more than you should. It made you realize that Oikawa and you were more similar than you expected. As much as you wanted to disagree with him so he could maneuver away from his self-destructive tendencies, you didn’t have the strength to. You ended up nodding in agreement to his comment. “…Actually, me too.”  
  
That comment cracked open the lock on the chest in your heart that you weren’t ready to face. You willed it away and closed it back up.  
  
Oikawa noticed you quieted down after your response and shifted closer to you, stretching out his arm over your shoulder and pulling you closer to him. “Thanks for coming to practice Rudolph, even though I was supposed to go to your clubroom~” You try squirming away from him but his grip tightens on you, signaling that he wasn’t finished speaking yet. “I’ll be happy to have little Rudolph be my cheerleader for the game!” You do your usual roll of your eyes when you’re met with his wink. “And I’ll be your cheerleader too!”  
  
You laugh and shrug off his arm that loosened around you. He always managed to make you feel better even though you planned to do that for him. “I’m not just cheering for you, Spotty.” You lightly poke his arm. “I’m cheering for your whole team since it is a _team effort_.”  
  
He gives you a broad smile. “Hm~ You are absolutely right.”

~~

The day of the big game came sooner than you expected which made you understand as to why Oikawa practiced like he was fighting against time—mostly because he literally was fighting against time.  
Currently, you were on a bus with all the other students from your school who wanted to cheer the Aobajōsai team on. Oikawa and the rest of his team were on a separate bus, considering the amount of people that came. _Which means_ …You look behind you and see his _lovely_ fans sporting their distasteful looks at you. _…You were stuck with these guys._ You sighed. Honestly, the things you do for Oikawa.  
  
You ignore the hard glares on your back and face your friend Ami who seems to notice your annoyed expression. “Woah, what happened during the ten seconds I was looking out the window?”  
  
You just closed your eyes to take a deep breath before patting her back. “Just have a little…something glaring at my back.”  
  
She blinks confusedly at your choice of words. “Uh…okay?” A few moments later and her eyes seemed to brighten in realization and you were more than surprised to see she understood your vague reply. “Hmm don’t worry about those fans, they’re just mad that Oikawa was happier to know that you were coming than all of them combined.”  
  
You massaged your temples. “…Well, as long as this is as far as they’ll go it’ll be fine.” You lean on Ami’s shoulder. “They’re pretty persistent though, huh?”  
  
Ami laughs and pats your head. “Oikawa’s fans wouldn’t be any other way.”  
  
“Hah~ Not sure if that’s a good thing or not…” You sigh for what seems like the millionth time that day and close your eyes to rest before you got to your destination.

~~

The volleyball hit the floor for the last time as it echoed in the gym, signaling that the last point was given to the winning team. Your eyes flickered to your volleyball team—the team everyone cheered so hard for. Ami clutched your arm tightly and almost painfully but it didn’t compare to the pain you knew a certain individual felt right now. You let out a shaky breath at the reality in front of everyone.  
  
Aobajōsai lost.  
  
Your heart clenched at Oikawa’s dejected form as you saw the two teams shake hands, solidifying the outcome of the game. You couldn’t even imagine the emotions Oikawa went through right now. He was not only a player in the team but also the captain and you knew that said captain probably thought he let his team down.  
  
The ride back to school was a relatively quieter one, everyone mulling on the fact that their beloved team had suffered a devastating defeat.  
  
Once the bus arrived at school, you noticed the volleyball members trudge back to the gym to put their things away. The air around them had lightened up a little but the gloomy presence was still there. You set your sights on Oikawa to see him more toned down than usual, signaling that the game still took a toll on him and kept him weighed down.  
  
You furrowed your brows at his dejected form. Standing up resolutely, you grab your things and make your way towards the gym. You wouldn’t dare let him spend the day immersed in that feeling you knew all too well.  
  
Why were you going this far to do this you wonder? You could feel it in your gut but you knew that if it was you feeling that way, he would definitely do the same for you. You had to show him that there was more to winning than successes. But with that you’d need the help of your canvas and your paintbrush.  
  
Somehow, even though they seemed to fail you in the past, you felt more familiar with painting than ever before. Since for you just recently, to win meant to find someone who wholeheartedly supported you through your journey to self-actualization. You weren’t sure if he’d be in the mood to listen to you right now but you definitely did not want to leave him with those negative feelings overnight. Although you were not a violent person by nature, you wouldn’t mind giving him a little punch to get his act together...  
  
Because hey, that’s what friends do right?

~~

You waited by the gym, ears perking up every time you heard the doors open and deflating when you saw it was a different member of the team. All the members were subdued but they were all similar with one thing. Their ways of expressing the message was different but the main idea was clear as day—‘please [Surname]-san, get our captain back’.  
  
There were two more members that have yet to come out and once the door opens again you aren’t surprised to see it was Iwaizumi. He walks up to you and pats your shoulder, maybe to comfort you and himself. “If he doesn’t get his act together today, I’ll beat him up tomorrow, okay?” He gruffly speaks, “so don’t worry if he’s being an unresponsive baby right now.” He pulls his hand away from your shoulder and rubs the nape of his neck. “But uh…thanks for going all this way to check up on him. If anything, you always manage to cool him down before it gets out of hand when I can’t.”  
  
You give him a soft smile. “As I said before, it’s a mutual thing. He’s always managed to do the same for me.” You lightly touch his shoulder in hopes to give him some comfort. You wanted to say something, anything to comfort him but you also knew that sometimes silence is a valid response.  
  
He returns your smile before he begins moving away from you. “That idiot thinks I’m stupid or something because I can bet you that he’s practicing right now.” He gives you one last glance before he parts with a slight wave. “Just having you around is enough so don’t beat yourself up if he’s being a kid okay? See you.”  
  
You see him off with a wave of your own before you face the gym doors you’ve become so accustomed to. Opening the door, you spot Oikawa doing exactly what Iwaizumi foretold. You make big strides towards him, moving quicker as you notice that he won’t seem to look you in the eye.  
  
“…Oikawa.”  
  
He may not have won the game but he won so much more.  
  
And you’ll make it your job to show it to him.


	11. Together

"Oikawa." You're a few steps away from him, hands on your hips as you try to get his attention. To your annoyance, he seems to ignore you even further, his eyes never once meeting yours and focusing on the space in front of him. You could see him grip the volleyball tighter as you stepped closer and stopped walking towards him.

You realized why he couldn't look you in the eye. From the distance between you two, you studied his very vulnerable form. Really looking at him, his eyes were unfocused, like they were detached from reality and his hands had a slight shake to them that he tried to control. For a few minutes you let him do as he wished and just absentmindedly held onto the volleyball, sometimes tossing it up and spiking it but not with the same drive and glint in his eyes that you're so used to seeing. As he once again spiked the ball, you walked over to pick it up before he could. Only then did you hear him speak to you.

"...Give it back." Your heart sank at his voice that just seemed to give up on all hope. Your grip on the ball tightened and you ignored his weak complaints at you and put it away. Then you made your way to the bumbling mess that is Oikawa and gripped his wrist softly, willing him to look into your resolute eyes.

"Come with me." He finally looked up at you and you see his eyes waver. You could see he didn't want to do anything other than wallow in his sorrow at the moment but you knew being in a dark place for a long time could trap him so you decided on the former. You softly nudged your finger on his forehead before carefully pulling him out of the gym. You wanted to say more to him but as you figured out before, silence is always a valid response.

The walk to the art clubroom was a stifling one, Oikawa's arm falling limp in your grip as you dragged him to the room by his wrist. Once you finally got there, you opened the door and urged him over to sit in front of a blank canvas. He slumped in his chair but said nothing as you were fluttering about, preparing paints and pulling a smock over his clothes. You were surprised by the lack of complaint you got from him, considering that he hadn't seemed like he wanted to do anything at all but you used that to your advantage. He seemed like he still has some fight left in him and you were going to let him use the canvas as his outlet. As you finished preparing the paints on the palette, you pass it over to him. "Here, use these."

Oikawa looks at you with a tired expression. "What do I even paint?"

You settle yourself beside him with your own set of paints and a blank canvas. "Anything. It doesn't even have to look like something. Just take some colors and play around with it. For example..." You dip your paintbrush in a bright red color and smear it over the canvas. "...Something like that. Go nuts."

Both of you guys just immerse yourselves in silence, losing yourselves as you guys painted away. The silence was broken a couple times as you heard Oikawa's sighs of frustration which lead to him roughly dipping his paintbrush in whatever paint it came in contact with and slathering it on the canvas. This went on for a couple more minutes until he let out another frustrated sigh and set down his palette and paintbrush. You turned to him and noticed that he was staring at your canvas with furrowed brows. "Do you need any more paint Oikawa?" You make a move to set your materials down to stand up but his voice cut you off from any further actions.

"—No. I just...I think I'm done." He stood up and started putting his stuff away but stopped once he saw you were making your way towards his canvas. He quickly cuts you off in your pursuit and turns the canvas over. "You don't need to see it," he mumbles, "it's nothing compared to yours."

You felt your eyes narrow at his comment.

Comparisons. They either made you or broke you. And judging by the look on his face, you knew which side he was leaning more towards.

You shook your head at his comment. "Everything is something Oikawa." You give him a soft smile. You wanted to say more but the rest of the words drifting about in your head seemed too cliché to say out loud. You just opted to patiently wait there until Oikawa could gather his bearings.

He stares at you for a moment before he sighs and sidesteps out of the way. You shoot him a thankful smile before you turn his canvas over. Studying it, the colors he used were bright, just like him, and it made you smile. Oikawa took your reaction in a different way and sighed. "It looks awful, doesn't it?"

You give him a thoughtful glance. "Any reason why you think that way?"

He glances at you for a moment before he ruffles his hair in frustration. "It looks like a blob of mush! So messy and unappealing to look at! It's nothing compared to yours—I—I'm nothing...compared to them." You stared at him, startled by his sudden outburst and his little slip at the end—though you made no point to make it known. He looked too riled up to realize what he just said.

You take your paintbrush and your palette before turning to him for consent. "May I?"

He nods dismissively. "I'm not sure how you'll fix this mess though."

Once you got his consent, you study his canvas with a thoughtful look before you get to work.

As you were working on his canvas, you notice that Oikawa has once again slumped himself into his chair, looking at the ground until you cleared your throat. "Ta-da! Look Spotty, it's your work!" You move the canvas over so he could see it.

He looks up, the cloudiness in his eyes slowly disappearing. "How..." He moves closer to study it.

"It was a team effort." You shoot him a teasing smile. "Don't get all high and mighty on me for that comment." You noticed that he has finally calmed down from his outburst and you work through your head the words you've been meaning to tell him the moment you saw that dejected look on his face.

Your smile softens as you speak your next few words. "Just...don't forget that there are a lot of people who have your back—even if you're _such_ a handful." You give an exaggerated roll of the eyes, feeling accomplished when you heard Oikawa scoff at the last bit. "...A handful that makes his friends worry about him so much it hurts." You end it off with one of your rare winks. "And I bet that Ujikama guy doesn't have a friend like me~" You felt yourself grin when you heard Oikawa let out a snort.

"You do know that's not his name." He finally turns to you with an amused expression.

"Eh, who cares," you wave his comment off dismissively and give him a teasing grin. "Spotty is a better name anyway."

You never realized how much you took for granted Oikawa's talkative nature. You preferred it much more than his silence for sure.

Putting your hands on your hips you stare down at his form and noticed that it has relaxed before resting your eyes on his canvas. "Well, you can't take this home yet though. It has to dry. But nice work my protégé!" You give him one last grin before you make a move to turn and begin cleaning up. That is, until you felt a hand grasp yours softly. It was so faint, like a breeze brushing against your fingers.

Surprised, you glance at him and realize he's not looking at you again. Shaking your head slightly, you nonetheless reciprocate his gesture and grip his hand tighter.

"You big baby."

If Oikawa needed the support, you were more than willing to give it to him. Somehow, it seemed like you needed it too. You wanted to make sure that he knew it was okay to be upset by the outcome of the game but he had to know that there were people that would still be there with him after the game—for days, months, years.

You wanted to make sure he didn't have to face his problems alone, that you guys could face them together.

For the next few moments in the art clubroom you and Oikawa comfortably grasped each other's hands in silence.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scenario has been running through my head since the beginning stages of planning this story so I'm glad to finally polish it up for you guys to enjoy (:  
> (you have no idea how much I freak out over these interactions when I write like I am so weak)  
> Thanks for all the support I've been getting, I love hearing from you guys!  
> 


	12. Between the Lines

“Hey [Name], who are you texting?”  
  
You look up from your phone for a moment to see Ami staring at you curiously. Tilting the phone slightly in her direction, she gasps.  
  
“Is that who I think it is?” She gives you a teasing grin.  
  
You sigh and tilt the phone back in your direction. “If you already know, I don’t really know why you ask…” Oikawa had been sending photos to you via text for a while now and honestly, most of the shots he took were really nice. Your phone buzzes again and you check your new message and roll your eyes. …Well, most of the time.  
  
Ami leans over your shoulder and laughs. “Oh wow, what a photogenic guy!”  
  
You stuff your phone in your pocket, ignoring that last text he sent. “I told him I don’t want his selfies.”  
  
Ami links her arms with yours. “Anything else you guys do besides send each other photos?”  
  
You shrug. “We just talk about whatever is on our mind.”  
  
Ami glances at you before looking forward again. “You know [Name], you’ve really changed since last year,” she hums.  
  
You give her a side glance. “Hm? How so?”  
  
She grins. “You just seem to feel more comfortable in your own skin.” Her grip on your arm tightens on you slightly. “I know it’s been hard for you for the past couple of years but I’m so proud that you’re finally letting yourself enjoy the things you like.”  
  
You look up thoughtfully, comparing your previous year to your present year. She was right, you were more comfortable being yourself. There were a lot of problems you couldn’t solve and agonizingly mulled over on your own which resulted in you shying away from people. It felt nice to have that support from your friends even if they had no idea of what you were currently mulling over—you felt cared for and loved by your peers.  
  
“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Ami pulls you out of your thoughts. “I’m hanging out with Hanamaki-kun after school!”  
  
Your eyes widened and you turned to face her fully, gripping her shoulders excitedly. “That’s great! I’m glad you pulled yourself together~” You teased her as she giggles and rubs her arm in an embarrassed manner.  
  
“Yeah…well…” She trails off and you lean forward to try and catch her next words. “So…I couldn’t find the courage to ask him to hang out alone so…” She looks at you with a pleading look and you brace yourself for the following words. “…I said it was a double date!” She presses her hands together to apologize as you rub the space between your brows.  
  
“Ami—” You were about to scold her when she cut you off.  
  
“Please don’t be mad!” She continues to give you a pleading look. “Actually, Oikawa was the one who gave me the idea when I was waiting for Hanamaki-kun after practice.”  
  
You quirk your brow. You told him not to meddle and what does he do? The complete opposite. You were about to stuff your hand in your pocket to get your phone and give him a piece of your mind but Ami’s hand stops you.  
  
“I’m so sorry [Name]! Just this once!” She pouts. “Plus I really need someone to push me when I freeze up.”  
  
You sigh. You weren’t keen on the idea of meddling but if you just needed to spur on a conversation when an awkward silence would start you could handle it. “So, who am I partnered up with?”  
  
Your eye twitches at her beaming expression that seemed to answer it all. You held in a frustrated sigh. “Why didn’t _you_ say anything about it?”  
  
She glances away from you, rubbing the nape of her neck nervously. “He, uh, told me not to tell you?”  
  
You let out the frustrated sigh you’ve been holding in. You had a hard time understanding his thought process sometimes but you pulled yourself together to make a decision. First order of business is to be a support for Ami and the second order of business is to see what’s going on with Oikawa. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll come,” you finally say as she cheers at your response. “So when is it?”  
  
She gives you a sheepish smile. “Actually…it’s today. Uh, um, after their practice.”  
  
You stalk off with you hearing Ami’s cries of apologies in the distance. Damn that Oikawa making Ami an offer she couldn’t refuse. You’ll just have to give him a piece of your mind when you see him.

~~

It doesn’t take you very long to find him, not while he was walking towards you with such a wide smile plastered on his face. “Rudolph! You didn’t respond to my last text!”  
  
Your eyes narrow at his seemingly innocent expression. Not like he just didn’t give someone an offer they couldn’t refuse in exchange for you to give up your very valuable free time. It was a Monday today and he _knew_ he had the day off from practice today in which you in fact _didn’t._ You stomped over to him, temper rising at the fact that he did notice your change in demeanor but paid no mind to it—like he was expecting it.  
  
“Ah, well, that’s okay~” He hums nonchalantly, “we’ll hang out after practice anyway.”  
  
“Oikawa I told you—” You were once again cut off.  
  
“Now, now Rudolph! We must be supportive friends in this momentous occasion!” He gives you the usual wink which right now you found quite annoying. “Plus we have to drill in Makki’s head that there is more to life than arm wrestles and volleyball!” He slings his arm around your shoulders and rose up his other arm to exaggerate his last point.  
  
You shrug off his arm roughly and jab your finger in his chest. “Yeah, with my very treasured art time on the line!” Your brows scrunch up in frustration. “You could’ve told me sooner…!” With that, you walk off with considerably less energy than when you started.  
  
You didn’t notice how his own brows scrunch in frustration as you walked off, upset that you didn’t want to hear out his reasons for doing so.  
  
You were finally just getting used to your new normal but once again, Oikawa had thrown another curve ball in your direction. You let out a resigned sigh. You were not impressed with how he dealt with it but Ami was so excited so you wouldn’t ruin today for her. Just like any day, you could handle a bratty Oikawa.

~~

Club practice coming to a close, you hear loud shuffles from beside you, signaling your very anxious friend. “Where are we meeting those two?” Your sharp voice cut through her loud shuffles as you turn to Ami when she was beginning to clean up.  
  
“Oh! Uhm, they’ll come pick us up here!” She gives you a nervous smile and your eyes soften at her. You had to keep your temper in check.  
  
“[Surname]-chan isn’t sticking around today?” Tadashi walks over to you two.  
  
You give him a half smile. “Got plans today.”  
  
Ami grins. “Because you’re the best~”  
  
Tadashi looks back and forth at your conversation and begins to put two and two together. “O-oh, like a date with the guys from the volleyball team?” He steps back lightly with his hands in the air once he sees the two of you snap your eyes towards him. “Iwaizumi was complaining about how Oikawa wouldn’t stop talking about it…” He trails off as he sees your quirked brow. “…Well, I summarized it in nicer terms.”  
  
Ami’s eyes widened, still stuck on the point where Tadashi called her time with Hanamaki a date as she waves her hands in front of her furiously. “N-no! I mean, can I call it that—but maybe not—” She rambles on, her words becoming more incoherent the more she talked so you responded for her.  
  
“We were just planning to hang out today.” You were amused at your friend’s flustered state, it was something you didn’t see too often.  
  
Tadashi nods at your clarification. “I see, I see.” His eyes dart around for a moment before he turns his attention back to you. “Before I leave, I wanted to ask if you could give me some tips on my painting sometime?”  
  
You give him a surprised look but nod eagerly. “It’s no problem at all Tadashi-kun!” Your eyes lit up at the opportunity to share ideas with another person. “We can talk about when to do that during class tomorrow or something.”  
  
He rubs the nape of his neck and smiles. “Hah, yeah! Sounds good, see you guys tomorrow then! Have fun today!” He packs up his things and makes his way to the door. “Oh, hey Hanamaki, hey Oikawa! See you.”  
  
Both you and Ami’s ears perk up at Tadashi’s last words and glance at the direction he left from. There they were, standing by the doors. Hanamaki had a bored look on his face and Oikawa had his usual broad smile.  
  
…No, there was something off about his smile. You weren’t able to put much thought into it as Oikawa’s airy voice cut through your thoughts.  
  
“Hey~ Ready to go?”  
  
Ami nods and pulls you with her, ready to start her date.

~~

You were put off by how Oikawa was acting during the supposed ‘double date’. He hadn’t looked at you even once but he seemed talk like usual to everyone. Everyone but you. You could tell Hanamaki and Ami also noticed but tried to ignore it so it wouldn’t get anymore awkward. You were more than a little pissed at his sour attitude that was ruining everyone’s time. The moment you spotted Ami’s favorite café, you decided to take matters into your own hands. “Hey Ami, I think there’s that new dessert there that you wanted to try! Want to go try it out with Hanamaki-san?” You link your arm on Oikawa’s making him flinch slightly. You ignore it for now. “I wanted to go show Oikawa something over there.” You point at the opposite direction. “Is that okay with you guys?”  
  
Hanamaki nods silently and Ami looks at you gratefully. “Perfect! We’ll part here then!” You start pulling Oikawa off in the other direction. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow!” When they start walking off to the direction of the café, you look up at Oikawa who still doesn’t look at you. You pull away from his arm and create some distance between you two. “And you, what happened?”  
  
Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t respond and you sigh tiredly. Putting your hands on your hips, you survey the surroundings for a good place to sit and talk. You spot a lone bench a little further down by the park and begin walking towards that destination. “Fine, lets walk a little, and then we’ll both chat.” Surprisingly, he follows you silently as you guide him through the crowds of people.  
  
When you guys finally made it to the bench, you plop down and Oikawa follows soon after. You`re more than a little irked that he sat further away than you guys were both used to. “Oikawa, what’s up?”  
  
You guys sit in silence for a while as you wait patiently for his response. After a couple more minutes, he responds, “can’t say.”  
  
You bit back your lip before you could start yelling at him from frustration. “What can you tell me then?”  
  
He sighs and looks out at the park. “…Do you like hanging out with me?”  
  
You quirk your brow at his question. “Of course I do.” You shift yourself a little closer to him. “But right now you’re making it _kinda_ difficult.”  
  
He leans back and closes his eyes as he lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He pauses as he thinks about his next words. “Just so you know, I like hanging out with you too.”  
  
You roll your eyes. “Obviously.” You glance at him from the corner of your eye and face forward again. “Would you be able to explain why you didn’t want to tell me about the plans for today?”  
  
You were going to give up when you were met with more silence but he spoke up moments later. “You wouldn’t want to come.”  
  
You nodded in agreement. “True.” Stretching your arms and leaning back on the bench you mutter, “then why would you do that?”  
  
Oikawa responds with his own mumbles, “I felt like you needed a break, you seemed to be stressed over something.”  
  
You turn to him, surprised how he could easily see through you. However, you noted that wasn’t the only reason he had…  
  
You stand up from your seat and began dusting off your clothes. You knew you wouldn’t get anything else out of Oikawa today but you’ll figure out what’s bothering him another day. “Now, lets end this off with—”  
  
You know you’ve been cut off a lot today. But what you didn’t know was that you’d also be cut off by a stray ball travelling in your direction. That said ball had a surprisingly heavy impact and made you lose your balance, toppling over a surprised Oikawa.  
  
“Huh—w-what—Rudolph—” His eyes snap open at the sudden impact on him, his hands reflexively gripping onto your shoulders as you just hold the back of your head with a groan. You’ve managed to slump your body over his, your forehead rested on his shoulder.  
  
You could hear small shuffling footsteps stop by you two, squeak out an apology and run back to their playtime.  
  
You use one of your hands to push away from Oikawa, still rubbing the back of your head with an annoyed look. “Exactly what did I do to deserve all this…” You realize you’re now a lot closer to Oikawa than you’re both used to, your hand resting intimately on his chest. You snapped your head to face him to apologize but your words got caught in your throat. His eyes looked a little glazed but you weren’t sure if it was because of what he was upset about all day or from the impact just now. Once you pulled yourself together you quickly pull away from him. “Whoops, sorry about that.”  
  
You were irritated by how much you felt your face heat up at being so close to Oikawa. You ignored the strange clenching in your stomach.  
  
Finally willing yourself to glance at him after another embarrassing moment from you, you notice that Oikawa seemed a little flushed himself. He stands up after a moment and spares you one last glance before he walks off, expecting you to follow him. “Hah~” He sighs out at the space in front of him. “Lets go!”  
  
You follow after him and soon fall into step with him. As you guys were waiting for the train, he speaks again. “Next time.”  
  
You give him a confused glance. “What?”  
  
He rubs the nape of his neck. “Sorry about how I was today. I swear when we hang out again, you’ll have the best time!”  
  
You chuckle at his words. _When_ you guys hang out next time huh? You give him a little nudge with your shoulder. “I’ll hold you up to it then because, what was it again?” You look up in thought. “Oh yeah! _Someone_ made it known that Oikawa Tōru keeps his promises, right?” You shoot him a teasing smile.  
  
He grins at your comment. “Hm~ You know me too well~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this was way different from what I had planned for this chapter but when I was writing it out I was like ‘oh what the heck, why not’ and just went with the flow. Let me know what you guys think (: Hope you guys liked this chapter, until next week~


	13. Ami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Just a little side chapter in Ami’s perspective (as well as her relationship with Hanamaki Takahiro). Hopefully it’ll give you some insight on the behind the scenes work that the reader doesn’t know about!
> 
> I’ve gotten some interest in the reader’s friend Ami and it inspired me to write about this! Thus an impromptu chapter was born! Thank you for your comments <3
> 
> Also, I really wanted to call this Chapter 12.5 since it is a side chapter, but it unfortunately wouldn't let me. There will still be another chapter this coming Saturday! (I guess I have to call it chapter 14 now...)

  ** – 2nd Year – **

Ami’s eyes scrunched up at the letters on the board, clutching onto her chalkboard eraser tightly. She was having a minor problem. Her arms stretched out as far as they could go to get the rest of the words off the board but to no avail. She huffed. “Where is that Hanamaki guy? He’s supposed to be cleaning today too!”

She grumbled and moved away from the board for now, cleaning up all the other things in the classroom. Unfortunately, once she was done doing so, she was met with the same problem with the board. Ami glanced over at the chairs but they were attached to the desks. She quickly tore her eyes away from it. Ami was a prideful individual and didn’t want her classmates to see she had to pull over the desk just to clean up the board.

Her eyes make contact with the broom. She could…

A few minutes later, Ami made a makeshift chalkboard eraser extension with the broom and smiled proudly at it. Right when she lifted it up, the classroom door opened to reveal the classmate she thought ditched today’s cleaning duty.

“…What are you going to do with that,” his monotone voice cut through the silence as she stared back at the invention in her hands.

Ami quickly put it down and huffed at him. “Where have you been Hanamaki-san?!”

He stares at Ami for a moment before walking up to her until he was face to face with her—well, face to chest. Ami froze as his towering body leaned over her and shut her eyes to brace herself.

However, as quickly as he came, the presence was gone. She glanced back at her hand which was holding the broom but missing the chalkboard eraser. Her eyes trailed over to Hanamaki as he easily erased the remaining letters on the board. As soon as he was done, Ami snapped her eyes away from him, irked by how aloof the guy was.

Hanamaki made his way to Ami once more, the crinkling of a plastic bag catching her attention and making her look at him again. He lifts a white plastic bag for her to see, a familiar café logo on the bag. “There were these limited edition cream puffs and I wondered if they would taste as good as profiteroles.” He noticed the confused expression Ami had. “Profiteroles are cream puffs from the US, I really like those.” After he spoke, he dives his hand in the plastic bag and pulls out the box, proceeding to open it. “Take one. Sorry I skipped out on cleaning duty today.”

Ami blinks up at him, surprised at his apology and his rather interesting excuse for not cleaning up the classroom with her today. Not a second later, she beams up at Hanamaki. “Don’t mind if I do!” As she takes one, Hanamaki nods at her before closing the box.

“The classroom looks clean already, good work.” He nods again at Ami, his usual bored face present. “Also, if I ever come in late again, just leave the things you can’t reach.” Ami started to open her mouth to argue that she could manage it even with her height but he cuts her off before she could. “—It’s not that I think you can’t do it, but I would like to help you out too, just like what you did for me today.”

Speechless, Ami nods at him to which he returns.

Just like that, Hanamaki leaves the room, leaving Ami to stare at the cream puff in her hand. She felt her warm cheeks and the subtle churning in her stomach. Ami bites into the cream puff with a thoughtful hum.

~~

After that interaction with Hanamaki, her eyes seemed to catch his form whenever he entered the room.

She pinched her cheeks to make herself snap out of it but it was futile. What’s worse is that Hanamaki seemed to pop up around her more recently as well: grabbing books she couldn’t reach, lending her a pencil when she went to lean over her neighbor to ask…

He did a lot of little things for her and it was so endearing.

As the older sister, Ami was so used to doing things on her own and for someone to offer to help her out just a little made her usual beaming smile brighten even further.

It was official, she totally had a crush on him.

The moment she had this revelation, she called up her very best friend [Surname] [Name].

Ami and [Name] go way back, meeting in elementary school. [Name] was always interested in art. One time, Ami was upset about something that happened earlier that day and [Name] had come to the rescue, drawing her favorite character from the cartoon show they both loved, giving Ami a big hug. Needless to say, they were friends ever since.

She held her phone over her ear and frowned, going through multiple beeps before it brought her to voicemail. Her news could wait. Right now, she needed to visit her very dear friend that desperately needed her daily hug.

~~

Opening the door to the art clubroom, her confirmations were solidified when she saw you painting away like usual. Well, like usual during that past year.

Ami sighed at you, plopping down on the seat beside yours. “Are you staying after club time again?” Her concerned look deepens further when you only nod in response. She glances over at your canvas, taken back by the sudden change in art style. She looks over to you quickly and notices your stiff expression and movements. Her hands clenched at the realization of what had caused you such distress.

She stands up from her seat loudly, making you look up at her curiously. Ami meets your curious expression with a grin. “Hey [Name], you think there’s room for one more in this club?”

The surprised look on your face doesn’t go unnoticed from her as she plants her hands on her hips, waiting for your response.

“Uh, actually, we were running low on members this year,” you say, still a little surprised at Ami’s question. “I thought you don’t like painting though?”

Ami pouts. “Only because I’m not very good at it…” she trails off. “…Yet!” She gives you a wink. “That’s why I have you right?”

Ami inwardly cheers at the smile slowly spreading on your face. “Got it.” You point over at the large table at the front, a single stack of papers in the center. “Fill out one of those and you’ll be good to go.” You turn back to her with a soft smile. “Thanks Ami.”

Ami grins at you. “I should be thanking you! You know better than anyone that my drawings are atrocious!”

 

** – 3rd Year – **

Ami took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It’s been more than a year since she met Hanamaki and she still liked him a great deal. Currently, she was in front of the gym, waiting for volleyball practice to finish. Her hands clenched at her sides, trying to will herself to stick through with her plan and just straight up ask Hanamaki to hang out.

The year had been good to the both of them, slowly but surely warming up to each other and being good friends. Whenever a limited edition dessert came out, either her or Hanamaki would mention it to the other excitedly. Well, mostly Ami. She was determined to get him to enjoy pastries other than cream puffs.

Sometimes she would think that maybe Hanamaki did feel at least a bit of attraction to her, but she could never be too sure. It was ridiculously hard to decipher his almost always present bored expression. The times she did get him to make a different expression, he seemed to give her a soft smile, making her heart squeeze more than it should.

Ami was brought out of her nervous haze when she felt a hand rest itself on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Oikawa and his broad smile. “Ah, Rudolph’s friend! Looking for someone?” Ami wanted to shrink away from his mischievous look but instead stood up a little straighter, planting her hands to her hips.

“Yeah, I was just waiting for Hanamaki-kun…” her voice trailed off just like her courage. She peeks at Oikawa’s amused smile before turning away. “B-but I guess if he’s busy I’ll talk to him another day! It’s not that important.” About to walk away, she halts in her steps when Oikawa stops her.

“How does a double date sound?” He gives her a wink as if he expected Ami to react this way so he could say that.

Ami blinks up at Oikawa with wide eyes. “Could you possibly…?”

Oikawa holds his hand up to stop her from saying any more. “If you say yes, I’ll ask Makki for you!” His grin stretches over his face. “All you have to do is not tell Rudolph, okay?”

She looked down at the ground for a moment, contemplating her options. Unsurprisingly, Ami nods at Oikawa’s proposal. “Yes.”

Although she knew you didn’t think of your relationship with Oikawa as more than a friendship, she had an inkling feeling than it had gotten past that stage a little while ago.

He beams at her response. “We will come pick you up after your club then!”

Right when he moves to turn back into the gym, she calls out, “how do you know he’d want to come?”

All she’s met with is a grin and an ambiguous response. “He’s not as secretive about those things as he wants to be~”

Blinking at Oikawa’s retreating form, Ami mutters, “no wonder [Name] says he’s a smug little kid.”

~~

Monday arrives and after receiving a text from Oikawa about the details for the double date, she couldn’t help but squeal from happiness.

Unfortunately, you did not have the same reaction as her. Even when she said your partner was Oikawa! However, time and time again you agreed to her plans, if only just accepting to be a support for her. It warmed her heart to have such a friend stick by her very momentous occasion like you did every time she told you something that was a very big deal to her.

As much as she liked Hanamaki, she hoped that the date would also go well for the other couple.

However, the start of the date had a rough start. Oikawa seemed to be partly sulking and partly throwing a bit of a tantrum, the chunk of it going directly at you. Ami and Hanamaki shared a confused glance at Oikawa’s actions but said nothing if not to hope it would pass soon.

Ami decided to go take a walk around, trying to quell the bad blood that seemed to be forming between Oikawa and yourself. Her brows scrunched in worry but was quickly replaced with surprise when a hand brushed against hers, hesitantly clasping onto it.

“I may have an idea why he’s like that,” Hanamaki whispers to her, making sure the other couple couldn’t hear him.

She opens her mouth, ready to ask why when you cut her off. “Hey Ami, I think there’s that new dessert there that you wanted to try! Want to go try it out with Hanamaki-san?” She turns to you, noticing your arm linked to Oikawa’s. She feels a squeeze on her hand and glances at Hanamaki who nods at your suggestion. Ami settles by giving you a grateful smile before walking off with Hanamaki.

Right when she and Hanamaki approve of splitting up for the rest of the date, they see you walk off, pulling Oikawa in tow. Hanamaki pulls on Ami’s hand, tugging her towards the café. “Don’t worry, [Surname]-san can handle him.”

Ami nods at Hanamaki’s comment and walks with him. “How do you know that?” She peers up at him quizzically.

He spares her a side glance before facing forward again. “[Surname]-san came by the gym after we lost that game,” he pauses for a moment before continuing, “waited by the gym doors to make sure Oikawa was okay.”

Ami blinks at the new information. So _that’s_ where you went. She smiles. “Hm, I guess there’s nothing to worry about then~” Ami tugs on Hanamaki’s hand, prompting him to move faster. “Hurry, the new dessert seems popular and I don’t want it to run out!” She gives Hanamaki a little wink. “Also, I’d like to confirm my suspicions on why Oikawa was acting off today~”


	14. Rudolph

You wouldn't be able to pinpoint it even if you tried but you wondered when Oikawa started being such a big part of your life. He gave you a push at the right times and always managed to support you when you needed it most.

As great as a friend Oikawa was, you noticed time and time again just how childish he can get.

Recently, he's been displaying more of his childish tendencies, pouting like a kid when your attention was away from him. To be fair, you realized that was also a part of him but his present actions these days were starting to get questionable.

"There you are Rudolph~" You see Oikawa bounding over to you before slipping his arm over your shoulders, ruffling the top of your head. He leans away from you slightly so you can look up at him. "Where's your friend today?"

Exhibit one. He was just so _touchy_ these days.

You promptly shrugged off his arm, ignoring the pout present on his face. "She's just running late." Looking over behind him, you see an irked Iwaizumi.

"Trashykawa hold your own damn bag!" He throws the bag towards Oikawa's face, hitting dead and center before it slid off to reveal a red imprint.

"Hm~ Spotty strikes again." Your fingers form a makeshift camera as you teasingly close one of your eyes to pretend to make a nice shot. "Perfect, looks good! What do you think Iwaizumi-kun?"

Iwaizumi chuckles at your antics and plays along. "A little more to the left and that picture is golden."

Oikawa quickly takes his bag from the ground and shields his face from you guys. "I'm offended! All my angles are great!"

You roll your eyes. "Yes of course, I could see it in your selfies," you drawl out with your words laced in sarcasm.

He huffs at your comment but nonetheless resumes his position with his arm slung around your shoulder. "Aren't you lucky to see such wonderful selfies~" He winks at you but you couldn't take him seriously with the imprint still fresh on his face and snort.

Pulling out your phone, you turn the camera to face the two of you and snap a quick photo with Oikawa talking mid-sentence. You hear a horrified gasp by your side and you smile smugly at the photo.

"Hm you're right, I'm pretty lucky~" You shrug off his arm yet again and begin walking off to your classroom. "I'll be going on ahead, see you guys later!" You give one last glance at Iwaizumi who shoots you an approving smile before you look at Oikawa's dumbstruck expression.

Yep, this photo is definitely a keeper.

~~

The moment you walk in your classroom you hear a voice call out your name. Turning towards the direction the sound came from, you see Tadashi stepping away from his group of friends and walking towards you. "[Surname]-chan! Just wondering if the offer still stands for helping me out on my painting?" He glances at you in an almost shy manner, scratching the back of his head.

You pause and blink at him for a moment before you recall him asking you about it a couple days ago. "Oh! Right, yes of course!" You shoot him a big smile. "We can do that during club time right?"

His eyes dart around the room before looking at you again. "Oh, uhm, well I was wondering if we could do that after club time?" He notices the surprised look on your face and quickly waves his hands in front of him, mildly flustered. "It's just that I don't want to barge in your time with Ami, she can't really stay after right?"

Taken back and a little touched by his comment you nod. "True..." You look up in thought before you face him again. "After club time it is!" You think back to Oikawa and inwardly sigh in relief at the fact that it wasn't Monday. Whenever he visited, you never managed to get much done, with him fluttering about the room and all.

...He _couldn't possibly_ cause a disturbance today...

~~

As you and Ami settled yourselves with your canvases in the art clubroom, you saw her raise her brow at Tadashi that situated himself on the other side of you. "Heh~ Looks like someone is joining the team!"

Tadashi looks up after putting his canvas down and smiles at the two of you. "It seemed like the best option since I'll be getting some help from [Surname]-chan after."

Ami snaps her head towards you after Tadashi goes back to setting up his materials. " _After?_ " She leans closer to you and inspects your face for information before just giving you an expecting look.

You roll your eyes. "Since I want to hang out with you while you're here." You jab your thumb in Tadashi's direction. "He also felt the same way."

Ami gasps and exaggeratedly touches her hand to her chest. "Both of you are too sweet to me~" Her gaze rests on Tadashi once he looks over at you guys again. "Best of luck to you!" She gives him a wink to which he flushes slightly.

You chuckle at Ami. "Don't we all~"

Ami huffs at your response and Tadashi lets out a sigh of relief.

As you guys were painting, you heard Ami mutter something under her breath. "Another challenger enters the ring!"

You quirk your brow at her. "...what are you going on about now?"

~~

After the last few members of the club step out to go home, you and Tadashi continue painting away in comfortable silence. More than halfway into your guys' time, Tadashi clears his throat making you turn to look at him.

"Hey...I'm having a bit of a problem here." He points to an area on his canvas. "Doesn't look right to me. Any ideas?"

You look at his work thoughtfully. "Hmm. Maybe try using a more subtle color on that part?"

"Hm, where?" He leans forward a little towards his canvas, trying to focus where your eyes were looking.

You lean in towards Tadashi's side and hover your finger over his canvas to pinpoint the area you were referring to.

His eyes pick up where you were pointing and proceeds to look over your suggestion. "O-oh, I see. Yeah, I'll try that out." He picks up his palette while you lean back into your seat to continue your own painting.

...At least, that's what you planned anyway.

"Rudolph..!" The door slams open and you don't even bother looking to see who it was anymore. Tadashi however, was startled by the noise, causing his paintbrush to swivel off track.

"—Ah man." Tadashi looks back to his canvas with furrowed brows.

Ignoring Oikawa for now, you face your attention to Tadashi. You give him some tips to cover the slip up, partially noticing the unpleasant look Oikawa was giving the both of you. After you finished talking to Tadashi, you glance over to Oikawa who still hasn't budged from the door. "Well? Aren't you coming in?"

Oikawa sends you a broad smile and walks over to you, sitting at the chair by your canvas. "I don't think we have properly met." He turns his attention to Tadashi. "Hm~ Must be nice to be classmates~" His eyes seemed to drill into Tadashi. "Tadashi, right?"

You couldn't help but give Oikawa an unimpressed look as you noticed how his stare seemed to make Tadashi more and more uncomfortable as time passed. "Yeah, he's also part of the art club. He just wanted some tips on his painting." You turn Oikawa's attention away from an uncomfortable Tadashi, relieved when he takes the bait.

"Ah~ So he's also an avid art club member like yourself!" The broad smile on his face returns and you smack his arm before he made Tadashi uncomfortable again.

"Hey you, you're early leaving practice today." You throw him a questioning glance. "What happened?"

He dismisses your concerned tone. "Nothing you need to worry about dear Rudolph~" He settles himself in his seat and waves his hand as if to shoo away the attention on him, surprising you to a small degree. "Don't worry about it, just keep painting like usual~"

You and Tadashi glance at each other confusedly before shrugging and continuing on.

You don't know how long you were in a trance while you were painting away but you snapped out of it when you felt a light poke on your arm.

"Hey, hey!" Oikawa's voice was insistent as he continued to get your attention.

Your eye twitched slightly before you finally turned to face him. "What is it—"

You froze. Did he just... Your eyes snapped towards him when you heard a camera snap a photo.

"Ah~ I forgot to turn off the sound..." You look at his pouting expression which was currently focused on his phone. "...And perfect! Looks good, what do you think Tadashi?" Oikawa shoots you a smug grin before showing the photo to Tadashi.

Tadashi's eyes dart between you and Oikawa with a conflicted expression and settles by just looking at the photo on Oikawa's phone. "...I can see why you're called Rudolph now..."

You narrow your eyes at Oikawa as you shoot up from your seat with your hand covering your nose. "What was that for?!" He responds with a cheeky grin and you felt your eye twitch more. "Ugh, I'm going to wash this off. Be right back." You stomp away from them and made your way to the washroom.

You huffed out a frustrated sigh as you were a little ways away from the clubroom. You had an inkling feeling this was to get back at you for the picture in the morning and you were a bit impressed by how quickly he managed to even the playing field.

But still...! Paint on your nose!

Finally at the washroom, you glance at yourself in the mirror, eyes focusing on the red paint Oikawa dabbed on your nose. You made a mental note to keep your paint palette on the opposite side and away from Oikawa in the future.

Washing away the evidence of the paint ever being there, you dry off your face and walk back to the clubroom.

Upon arriving at the clubroom, you glance over at the clock as you enter. "Hey, I think it's just about time to pack up." The two guys turn their attention to you as you called out.

"Welcome back~" Oikawa's airy voice sang out. You shoot him an unimpressed look, his antics still fresh in your mind and walk past him to start packing your things.

When you look up, you see Tadashi's gaze on you and shoot him a smile. "It was nice painting with you again Tadashi-kun! We haven't done this in a long time."

He gives you a soft smile. "...Yeah, its been a long time." He pauses for a moment as you patiently wait for his next words. "Uh, would it be okay for me to stay after as well sometimes?" He gives you an embarrassed look. "I mean, I respect it if you don't want to have the company..."

You shake your head. "No, it's fine by me! Like I said, it's nice painting with you again." You give him a warm smile to calm his nerves. "Besides, I could use some more company."

Right as you said it, an arm slipped around your shoulders. "Hm~ I should be enough!" Oikawa gave you a little wink to which you rolled your eyes at. You pinch Oikawa's arm making him wince and slide his arm off you before turning your attention back to Tadashi.

"The more the merrier." You shrug. "Plus it'll be nice to have different company." You stuck your tongue at Oikawa, catching his infectious childish tendencies. "Anyway, it's time to get going."

Tadashi nods at your prompting and lets you and Oikawa through the door first before taking his place on the opposite side of you as you guys walked to the exit.

As you guys make your way to the exit, you notice Tadashi make side glances in your direction. "What's up Tadashi?"

He jumps at the question before settling himself. "Oh! Um, well there's this art exhibit coming up in a couple weeks for starting artists and I was wondering if you would be interested in showcasing your work?" He looks to you for a response but is met with your dumbstruck expression. "You don't have to! I-I mean it's just an option." He rubs the back of his neck embarrassedly. "My dad is holding an exhibit and he need a few more artists..." Tadashi trails off and stuffs his hand in his pants pocket before pulling out a card. "There's more information on the website, here."

You blink at him a couple more times before you take both his hands excitedly, not noticing the surprise from both the males. "This is—oh wow!" You grin at Tadashi. "I am definitely interested!"

Tadashi flushes at the contact and Oikawa narrowed his eyes at the sight of your joined hands.

Finally letting go of Tadashi's hands, he proceeds by fishing his hand in his pocket and pulls out his phone. "Would you mind if we traded numbers? I can answer more questions you have whenever the time arises and I can update you on any further details."

You nod to Tadashi excitedly, not even bothering to nudge off Oikawa who settled his chin on top of your head and wrapped his arms over your shoulders. You pull out your own phone and trade numbers with him, beaming up at Tadashi once his number was stored in your phone. "Thank you so much for this opportunity!"

Tadashi lets out a small laugh at your enthusiasm and waves his hand. "No, thank you! An artist dropped out last minute for personal reasons so my dad was freaking out about it. The first person I thought of to enter was you."

"Hm~ Are you in the exhibit too?" Oikawa pipes in, his eyes locking onto Tadashi's.

Tadashi shakes his head. "Ah, no. I don't really show my works at my dad's. I want to apply like everyone else. Get in or get rejected, at least I learn to see what I can do next."

Oikawa nods at his response. "Heh~ You're not so bad."

"Likewise." Tadashi grins at Oikawa.

When you guys reach the entrance of the school building, Tadashi faces the both two of you and waves. "My place is this way so I'll see you tomorrow." He shoots you a soft smile before resting his eyes on Oikawa. "Nice to officially meet you, Oikawa!" They share a look you don't recognize before Tadashi starts walking off.

Once Tadashi was a little ways away, you turn to Oikawa. "...Just what were you guys up to while I was away?"

His waves his hands dismissively. "Pay no mind to it~" He elaborates a little more once he sees your unimpressed expression again. "It's just a...refreshing talk between friends!"

You felt irked by how much Oikawa was brushing off your questions lately. Just what couldn't he tell you? Especially since this problem seemed to involve you... You turn away from him and let out a disappointed sigh. As much as you wanted to settle the inner turmoil Oikawa had that seemed to bother him considerably, it wouldn't settle because he was surprisingly adamant about keeping it from you. Just what did you do? You bit the inside of your cheek in thought, filing through possible scenarios that may have led to Oikawa being upset with you and silently telling you that you should figure it out on your own.

Your thoughts wandered more and travelled to the exhibit Tadashi told you about. As thrilled as you were, you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach at the thought of some people who wouldn't share that feeling with you.

You snapped out of your thoughts once you felt a familiar arm slip onto your shoulders. "You know the story of Rudolph?"

"Yeah, the reindeer that got picked on because he was different. What about it?" You felt drained at this point. All this thinking was making your head throb. You internally sighed at the different phases you had to go through just to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, you seemed to be a great distance away from finding any solutions to the problems you were thinking about just now.

"You're missing the whole point of the story!" He leans on you slightly and lightly pokes your nose to which you scrunch your face at moments later, swatting his hand away from your face. "Rudolph lit the way, making it easier for everyone to see their path." He gives your shoulder a squeeze of reassurance as if he knew just what you were thinking about moments before and then slips his arm off your shoulders. He shoots you a smile you were unfamiliar with before he walks on ahead.

"And just so you know, I have time to spare if you need a live model~" He called out and you couldn't help but chuckle.

You processed the analysis of his take on the nickname. You don't know how he does it but he somehow manages to know when your thoughts start spiraling down and proceeds by presenting you with some words you needed to hear. Your steps quicken to catch up to his retreating form before a smile etches itself on your face.

You wouldn't admit it, but maybe you could live with that name Rudolph.

~~

Once you guys got situated on the train you notice Oikawa contemplating something.

"Penny for your thoughts?" You pipe up.

He gives you a side glance and faces forward again. "I prefer milk bread."

You roll your eyes at his quick response, huffing and turning your head away from him. You take a little peak at Oikawa's conflicted expression, feeling accomplished that your little act worked.

"So...Tadashi huh?" He finally says.

You look at him with a curious expression. "What about him?"

A beat later, a mischievous smile plants itself on his face. "Hm~ Into those artsy types I see?"

You blinked. It felt a little strange talking about these things with Oikawa. But after a few moments you contemplate his question before answering. "I don't really have a type." You notice his questioning gaze. "If I had to choose, I think my type would be someone I fall in love with you know?"

He pouts at your response. "Is that even a type...Why not someone who enjoys similar things?"

You tap your finger to your chin in thought. "If I wanted to date someone like me, then why should I settle for second best? I might as well date myself." You quirk your brow at Oikawa's gleeful expression. "What's this all about anyway?"

"Just wanted to see what you thought about the subject," he hums nonchalantly.

A few minutes on the train pass but you notice he's still a little off, his expression not being able to hide the slight scrunch of his brows and his pursed lips.

"You know you're great right?" You speak up.

He faces you with a questioning look. "Where is this coming from?"

"I just wanted to make sure you knew..." You give him a side glance. "Just in case you were doubting yourself or something."

He huffs and looks away from you, making you inwardly snicker that you hit the nail on the head. You pat his back lightly.

"I'll tell you a secret." You lean towards him slightly.

"Hm? What now?" He was still pouting from your teasing but also couldn't hide the curiosity on what you had to say.

To the guy who came crashing into your life, changing your routine so suddenly...you had to make sure that he understood how valued he was too. His presence was just so...colorful.

You gave his back one last pat before you stood up as the train called your stop.

"You make a pretty good Rudolph too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So many things happened I'm sorry it's a mess, I'm a mess, and those two are also a mess)  
> Just to glue together more loose ends, I am planning another side chapter sooo hurray you guys have another chapter to read this week!  
> More exciting news is that I have received lovely fan art for this story: http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/gallery/59155105/Splash-of-Color  
> Thank you for the support! You guys are such fantastic readers <3


	15. Tadashi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray another side chapter! I’m getting fond of these behind the scenes bits so there will be more or less of them in future chapters. Just a heads up!

  **– 2nd Year –**

It was the last day before school started up again and Tadashi was currently stuck at his dad’s art exhibition.

Tadashi politely smiles at the funders of his family’s business with his dad, shaking their hands and getting through all the pleasantries. As years went by, Tadashi’s dad became more adamant about him tagging along for these types of networking. His family was quite talented in scouting out starting artists and showcasing their works in their exhibit. Unfortunately, Tadashi wanted more than to just show art, he wanted to make his own works.

His dad let him do as he wished, although he said that he wouldn’t be able to show his works in their exhibit if he wished to follow through with it. Tadashi agreed with his condition, vowing to find his own way of making a statement with his work.

But that was where the problem lies. Tadashi was surrounded in different styles of art all day that he found it difficult to find his own style. His train of thought was cut off once an art patron called for his attention.

“Oh, Kouta-kun! I heard that you were making your way into the art world!” The patron shakes his hands with Tadashi, their gaze interested. “I would love to see your work!”

Tadashi lets out a small laugh and pairs it off with a soft smile. “Thank you for your interest. What would be a reasonable time to show you my portfolio?”

The art patron looked delighted at Tadashi’s response and pulls out a business card from their pocket. “Anytime you’re able to pull your portfolio together! I understand you recently just started so I don’t want to rush you. Give me a call when the time comes so I know you’re dropping by!” They end it off with a smile before they excuse themselves. “Pleasure doing business with the Tadashi family!”

Tadashi stares at the patrons retreating back before staring at the card in his hand, dumbstruck. “Hey dad, I still don’t feel right about this…” He clenches the card in his hand. “I feel like I got a chance before I even showed any work.”

Tadashi’s dad gives him a light pat on the back. “Well, I guess you’ll have to make sure that chance stays there when you show them your work.” He gives Tadashi a reassuring smile. “You’ve networked enough that most of the patrons here are familiar with you and how well you treat everyone.” He nudges Tadashi, making him stumble forward and turn back to his dad with a questioning glance. “There’s just a little bit left to do here but I can do that myself. I’m sure there is somewhere else you’d rather be right now?” His dad gives him a knowing smile.

Tadashi nods at his dad gratefully. “Yeah, thanks.” He steps out of the exhibit and walks to his house a few blocks away.

He quickly opens the door of his home and runs up to his room, changing out of his stuffy formal outfit and into more comfortable clothes. Looking up at the time, he speeds up even more and swiftly packs his art supplies into his bag before rushing out the door.

It was almost sunset and he always managed to miss it with all the art exhibitions his dad wanted him to attend.

Just a few steps away from his favorite spot to see the sunset, he spots someone else occupying the space. His steps slow down but the noise was still enough to attract the person and turn their gaze to him. His breath caught in his throat.

You turned to Tadashi, your pencil hovering over your sketchbook. You didn’t say anything, and you didn’t really have to since Tadashi quickly broke the ice as he walked closer to you.

“Ah, I guess someone else found this spot pretty great too.” Tadashi rubs the back of his neck in an almost shy manner, glancing at you with kind eyes.

You blinked at him before you shifted in your seat, opening up a space for Tadashi to sit. “There’s room for one more if you like.” You lightly pat the empty space once before you point at his bag. “You wanted to draw here too right?”

Tadashi chuckles at your friendly manner and takes up your offer, sitting beside you. He pulls out his sketchbook and opens to a fresh page. Tadashi readies himself to start sketching until he notices you staring at him curiously. “Is there something wrong?” He turns to you, giving you his full attention.

You snap your head back forward, embarrassed but speak anyway. “Oh! I was just wondering what kind of things you found interesting.”

Tadashi gives you a confused stare. “How would you find that in my sketchbook?”

You stare at him blankly for a moment before looking up in thought. “Well…my sketchbook holds stuff I find interesting like flowers I come across or a scene I don’t want to forget. So I was just wondering about yours.” You let out a small laugh at Tadashi’s expression. “Sorry, I get a little curious for my own good.”

He waves his hands, as if to dismiss your apology. “That’s an interesting take on it.” He voices out the thoughts that had been drilling his mind for ages. “I thought it was to draw things that others found beautiful…”

You scrunch your brows at his comment, making him laugh. “Was I off?”

Shaking your head slightly, you let out a thoughtful hum. “You’re not off…” You glance at the sunset before the both of you. “Take the sunset for example. I would draw how beautiful I think it is in my own eyes rather than making sure it matches the beauty other people may see.” You give him a shrug. “At the end of the day, the sunset is still beautiful.”

Tadashi was silent, pondering your words. It felt like things suddenly made sense and he wondered how he never understood it in the first place. He smiles at you softly before he picks up his pencil again, ready to make some art.

You return his smile and do the same, picking up your pencil and focusing back on the sunset.

Unknown to you, Tadashi’s eyes travelled to you and the sunset, his hand sketching out to what he can proudly call his own style.

His first work would be called _Sunset Muse_.

~~

The first day of second year had finally begun, Tadashi blending in effortlessly with his old friends from last year as they talked about what they did for the break. As the rowdy group of boys entered their new classroom for the year, Tadashi’s breath once again got caught in his throat.

There you were, sitting with some of the other girls in class, possibly also talking about how their break was.

Tadashi didn’t even notice he stopped walking until one of his friends nudged his shoulder. “Oh~? Did someone catch your eye already?” His friend eyed him teasingly.

Tadashi let out a laugh to dismiss any suspicion and brought the question back to his friend. “I’m sure someone already caught your eye I presume?”

His friend took the bait quickly and put a friendly arm around his shoulder, talking animatedly about the cute girls this class seemed to have. Tadashi couldn’t help but nod at his friend’s comment, his gaze turning to you every so often. _Cute girls indeed._ He agreed in his thoughts.

~~

Weeks passed and the school finally announced club activities for the year. Once he heard the words ‘Art club’, he took a small glance at you and noticed that your head jerked up from your desk.

Although you and Tadashi greeted each other that first day back at school, he couldn’t help but be disappointed that your relationship had not progressed past classmates. Tadashi was a friendly guy and everyone seemed to be comfortable around him, which had its downsides when he just wanted some space. The one person he wouldn’t mind being around him all the time seemed to be the only one who was mindful of his space.

His mind sparked a new idea as he recalled the memory of your blatant interest in the art club. If he could be classmates _and_ clubmates with you, maybe you could even be friends.

That very same day, he walked up to the art clubroom door and glanced at the sign-up sheet. Unsurprisingly, your name was written there already. He takes out a pen and writes his name on the sheet as well.

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and placed his pen back in its case and walked off to his locker.

  
**– 3rd Year –**

Currently, Tadashi’s brain was most likely out of order. He had finally mustered enough courage just to spend some time with you and work on some art like the day you guys met.

He had known you to be a strong willed type of person but there was always something that seemed to be bothering you. Tadashi noticed though that once you came in contact with the school’s superstar volleyball player, Oikawa Tōru, the restraints that seemed to be binding you in your second year was slowly but surely breaking away. Although he felt a little lonely, the stronger feeling he felt for your development was happiness since you looked so comfortable in your own skin—more so in this year.

His paintbrush halted as he stared at the point it hovered on at his canvas. Clearing his throat, he successfully got your attention. “Hey…I’m having a bit of a problem here.” He points to an area on his canvas. “Doesn’t look right to me. Any ideas?”

You look at his work thoughtfully and share some pointers. The moment you lean in to pinpoint the area you were referring to, his mind went blank until you looked at him for confirmation. As Tadashi finally acknowledges that he knew what you were talking about, you lean back in your seat and he proceeds to pick up his paintbrush.

As soon as his paintbrush touches the canvas, a loud bang from the sliding door caused him to jump, unfortunately making his paintbrush swivel off track. Tadashi didn’t even have time to glance over at the cause of the ruckus since you quickly turned your attention to him and gave him tips to cover up the slip up.

When you finished, you called over the culprit of the loud noise, unsurprisingly seeing Oikawa by the door. It was no news to anyone that Oikawa and you visited each other’s respective clubs from time to time. What was more surprising was that you guys seemed to be just friends as opposed to Oikawa’s long streak of dating girls he came in contact with.

Another surprise for Tadashi was that Oikawa seemed to be quite hostile towards him, his stare speaking more than his voice. It was only natural for Tadashi to be uncomfortable being stared at in such a way, especially since he had no idea what made Oikawa upset with him in the first place. Luckily, you divert the attention away from him and ask Oikawa about his practice, leaving Tadashi to work on his canvas peacefully.

The peaceful ambience doesn’t last when he heard Oikawa pestering you and then hearing a camera shutter. He looks up and sees you, the tip of your nose painted bright red, staring blankly at Oikawa. He observes the interaction between you two, his stomach clenching painfully. He doesn’t have much time to look into that feeling when Oikawa urges Tadashi to look at the picture he took on his phone. As soon as Tadashi commented on the origin of the nickname, you shoot up from your seat and declare that you’re going to wash it off.

Right when you exit the room, Oikawa turns his full attention towards Tadashi, a mischievous smile present. Tadashi blinks before it clicks in his head that Oikawa probably did that to get you out of the room. Why he did that Tadashi had no idea. He places his paintbrush down and also gives Oikawa his full attention.

Well, he was going to find out.

“Hm~ How did you meet Rudolph?” Oikawa hums, leaning back on his seat nonchalantly.

Tadashi observed Oikawa’s unreadable expression before answering. “I met her last year when we coincidentally planned to draw in the same area….How about you?”

“She had paint on her nose on the train and I graciously told her about it.” He gives Tadashi a hard stare, now leaning forward in his seat. “Now the real question, what is she to you?”

Tadashi stares at Oikawa’s hard gaze in surprise, partly from the intensity of his gaze and partly from the question itself. After a moment, he loosens up under his stare and laughs. “The same way she is to you.”

Oikawa hums again, his mouth opening to speak more but the door of the classroom had opened again, you telling the boys that the time was up…in more ways than one.

~~

The moment Tadashi mentioned the art exhibit to you and you grabbed his hands in excitement, he couldn’t help feel elated that he was finally the one that brought a smile to your face. He discussed the details with you, not pointing out the guy who seemed to have draped his arms around you as you guys talked.

As everyone finally reached the entrance of the school, Tadashi gave you a soft smile and turned to Oikawa. His stare was strong, just like Oikawa’s as he felt his first sense of rivalry but also camaraderie. They shared the same thoughts and because of that they understood how the other felt very well. “Nice to officially meet you, Oikawa!” He then starts walking off, knowing very well that the outcome was decided a long time ago.

But he felt that even so, he did not lose anything from it. Rather, he gained so much. You showed him what it means to share the beauty from his own perspective and let him experience his first love.

And for that, he was so thankful to you.


	16. Hurdles

Today was the day you were dreading. As a result, you were more than a little off today. Your energy seemed to be drained before the day even started. You sighed as you linked your arm with Ami’s and leaned on her slightly. Ami doesn’t question it and lightly pats your head in a comforting manner to which you were thankful for.

The morning walk continued on quietly until you noticed a familiar figure running towards you from the corner of your eye. You braced for the impact as you felt a body cling on the other side of you. “Morning to the both of you~!” Oikawa releases you from his grip, a bit thrown off that you haven’t shrugged him off yet. “Rough morning?” He tilts his head in confusion.

You nod tiredly. “Pretty much.” You didn’t hear him say anything else and just felt a hand ruffle your hair gently. Lazily looking up at the culprit, he just shoots you a refreshing smile, easing you a bit from your present concerns.

He takes your free hand before placing something in your palm and closing it. “I was going to save it for later, but I don’t mind giving it to you~” He winks as he steps away to give you back your space. “I’ll see you after practice!” He waves at the two of you before he takes off.

You watch him take off before resting your attention to your closed fist.

“What did he give you?” Ami peers at your closed hand curiously.

You open your hand, pleasantly surprised at the spontaneous gift.

In your hand was a small individually wrapped chocolate. You unwrap it and pop it in your mouth moments later. Chocolate was definitely what you needed right now.

“How is it?” Ami pipes up.

You contemplate the taste in thought. “It’s really sweet…”

~~

When it was time for the art club, you tried to push back your concerns for the time being as you sat with Ami and Tadashi. Luckily, you found comfort as you quickly got into your painting and you could feel some of your strength come back to you. You give a quick nod to Ami who lets you know she has to meet Hanamaki for something and went back to your painting.

A few minutes into your work, Tadashi calls for your attention, his hands fiddling with a thin stack of tickets.

“So I finally got a hold of some tickets and I was wondering how many you needed…” he trails off and waits for your response.

You look up in thought, thinking about the people you wanted to invite. There was Ami, Oikawa… You turn your attention back to Tadashi. “Are you going to be there?”

He blinks at your question and nods slowly, processing your words. “Y-yeah, I’ll be sure to check out your work too!”

Once you got your answer, you resume your thought and pause for a moment. There were three other people to invite as well but… Your hands clenched slightly as you nodded to yourself resolutely.

“I’ll take five.”

Tadashi nods at your confirmation and pulls out five tickets for you to take. “I hope to see all of you there then!” He smiles at you gently and you try to give him back a smile of your own.

You hoped that you would see everyone there as well.

~~

The day flies by and you grimace at the clock in your clubroom. Your thoughts are confirmed when the door slams open following after. “Ah! Looks like I finished before you!” Oikawa’s voice echoes in the room, relieving you from your thoughts.

He strides over to you with a pout on his lips. “Eh~ You didn’t start cleaning up yet!” He starts grabbing your brushes before walking over to the sink. “Well, I don’t mind giving you my wonderful expertise.” He turns behind him to give you a wink before turning back. “I was called a master paintbrush washer in my past life you know~”

You’re brought back into reality from his silly antics and let out a giggle. “Not sure if that’s a good name to be called in your past life.” You start clearing your other materials and take your palette over to the sink beside him.

He hums, his tone light and airy, “you’re right. I’m fonder of the name Spotty in this present life.”

You smile and shake your head at him. “As it should be.”

As you guys finished up cleaning your mess in record time, you and Oikawa start making your way to the train station like usual. The next few words that come out of Oikawa’s mouth surprise you.

“I feel like walking you home today~” He shoots you a teasing smile. “Since you’ve been rather spacey today, I wouldn’t want you to get lost along the way.”

You roll your eyes at his explanation but feel mildly relieved that he presented you with that option. “I want to disagree but you’re right.” Glancing up at him with a grateful smile you softly say, “thanks Oikawa.”

He glances at your expression before his head snaps up a beat later, facing away from you. “…No thanks needed!”

~~

When the train calls for your stop, you and Oikawa both get off. Surprisingly, the walk to your place was a quiet and comforting one. Oikawa only spoke when he asked about where to turn which was quite surprising to you—it was a different side of Oikawa you didn’t see often. Right now he seemed so sure of himself and reliable. He walked at your pace, even when it got agonizingly slow as you were closer to reaching your destination. It was times like these that you were even more thankful for his presence.

Your steps halt once you notice three figures outside your house. Oikawa stops walking soon after and shoots you a quizzical look before tracing where your eyes were focused on.

It was your parents greeting your older brother that made time to visit at least once a year. Your hands unconsciously clenched as you realized you didn’t feel as ready as you did while you were painting. But just like this morning, your anxiety was eased when a hand clasped itself over yours, gently nudging your clenched fingers open and then lacing his fingers with yours. You don’t face him, worried that your anxious expression was still stuck on your face. Thankfully, he says nothing, giving your hand a soft squeeze before letting go. His hand moves behind to your lower back and gently nudges you forward as he starts walking again.

Once you were close enough, his hand parts from your lower back as the three figures looked up to see you and Oikawa. “Oh my! Who is this [Name]?” Your mom blinks up at you in surprise.

“This is Oikawa Tōru, a friend at school.” You usher your hand towards Oikawa, prompting him to beam at them with his broad smile.

“It’s nice to meet you!” He gives a small wave as he glances at the three family members before him.

Your mom looks between the two of you with her hands on her hips. “We were just about to have dinner! If you have time, would you like to have dinner with us?”

Oikawa looks to you for confirmation as your eyes lock onto his, as if to say you weren’t opposed to the idea. “…Thank you for the invitation!” He reaches in his pocket to pull out his phone. “Would I be able to call my parents about the change of plans?”

Your mom nods and the rest of your family members walk themselves in. “We’ll be inside then. [Name], tell him where to put his shoes.”

You nod as they all enter the house, leaving you and Oikawa at the front. You let your arms dangle at your sides as Oikawa ruffles your hair again and gives you a smile. “I’ll be right inside, where should I go?”

“Dining room, it’s to your left when you enter,” you mumble, “the shoes go on the mat on the right.”

He gives your head a pat, fixing your hair a bit before removing his hand. “Got it, I’ll see you inside in a bit okay?”

You nod and shuffle inside, taking off your shoes before taking a deep breath. Your older brother was finally here. Although you didn’t have a terrible relationship with him, both of you felt more than a little awkward around each other.

After you put your stuff away, you made your way into the dining room. Quietly, you take a seat diagonal from your brother, him greeting you with a welcoming smile. “Nice to see you again! We always seem to miss each other so I’m glad I can see you this year.”

You give him a small smile. “Nice to see you too.”

He shuffles in his seat, straightening his posture a little. “Actually, since I was given a vacation, I’ll be staying here for a little longer than usual.” He glances over at your expression, gauging your reaction. “If it’s alright with you, would you have time to catch up with me?”

You notice your sibling’s attempts at conversing with you. He was always so patient with you even if you were being difficult. It seemed like you never grew up in the first place. After a few moments, you nod your head firmly. “There’s this nice café my friend and I like, I could show you tomorrow,” you offer.

He beams at your invitation. “Sounds great!” His fingers tap against the table. “…You go to the café with Oikawa?”

You blink up at him and shake your head. “Oh, no my other friend, Ami.”

He shoots you a soft smile. “Ah, you’re still hanging out with Ami, that’s good.”

You racked your mind for what else to say to your brother but came up with nothing. When your parents walked in with Oikawa in tow, you felt relieved. “Lets start dinner, shall we?” You mother sings out as she sits by your brother, your father taking a seat at the head of the table. Oikawa finds his way beside you and plops down on the seat.

You turn to Oikawa who was stiff in his seat. “What did they say to you?” You respond to him when your family wasn’t paying attention to you two.

“A lot of things…” he mutters. 

You were about to ask him to elaborate until your mom calls for everyone’s attention. “Cheers for Jun’s safe return home!”

For most of the dinner, your parents continued to chat with Jun as you silently ate your food. Oikawa glanced at you often, not sure if he could speak without alerting the other residents of the table. Oikawa didn’t have a chance to speak once your dad’s voice turned everyone’s attention to him.

Your dad places his drink back on the table. “We’re proud of you Jun, you’re doing very well there.”

Your mom nods in agreement. “But we’d be even more proud once you walk in with a fine partner!” She glances over at you and Oikawa. “Like [Name] did!”

You choke on your food and wave off Oikawa’s hand that was reaching to pat your back. What in the world did he say to them?

 “But I hope you’re still studying well?” Your dad looks up from his food and at you. “Don’t let…that and your art club hinder you from your real concerns.” You bit your lip and narrow your eyes at your food. He takes that as a sign to continue speaking, “Jun studied hard for the university close by our place and got exceptional results, learn from him. It’s not long before high school is over.”

“Doctor sounds nice right?” Your mom pipes up. “I wouldn’t mind having a lawyer for a daughter either, since we already have a doctor in the family.” She smiles approvingly at Jun to which you hold in a frustrated sigh and continue glaring down at your food before putting down your utensils.

Jun’s brow scrunches slightly and opens his mouth to speak but was wasn’t able to when everyone hears a cheery tune coming from Oikawa.

“Ah, I apologize, that’s probably my parents.” He puts down his utensils and reaches in his pocket to pull out his phone. “I should probably get going. Thank you so much for the meal!” Oikawa looks to you expectantly and you give him a relieved look.

“I’ll go walk him out.” You also put your utensils down as the two of you stand from your seats.

“Alright, thanks for joining us for dinner!” Your mom smiles at him as your dad nods silently.

“It was nice meeting you Oikawa,” Jun throws in a smile of his own.

~~

As you guys exit the house both of you let out a sigh of relief. You turn to each other and laugh.

“Sorry about that, the tension builds pretty fast.” You rub your arm to warm yourself up from the cool air.

Oikawa shakes off his school blazer and places it over your shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.” He stares up at the starless sky before facing you again. “You have time to take a little detour? I saw a small park a little ways away.”

You clench your fingers over the blazer placed over your shoulders. “Don’t your parents want you home?”

He grins and holds out his phone. On the screen showed Ami’s name with a text attached.

**Ami: Emergency escape text received!**

You giggle at her text before you felt your own phone buzz. Reaching in your pocket, you see that Ami had sent you a text of her own.

**Ami: Doing this is enough for today, you did great <3**

You smile softly at your text and then glance towards Oikawa again.

“I got a hold of her and she said to text her if things get sour. We got your back.” He winks at you. “So, park?”

You felt your chest well up with warmth. Smiling up at Oikawa, you nod. “I could go for a walk.” You take a few steps away from him until you turn back around to face him expectantly. “Well? Lets go!”

Just like this whole day, your walk with Oikawa was a quiet and comfortable one. On days like this where you struggled to stay positive, Oikawa was there to support you. He said nothing, waiting for you to speak to which you were internally thankful for.

“This takes me back,” you hum softly, sitting yourself down on a bench facing the park. “I used to go here with Jun when we were little.” You felt nostalgic just thinking about your past relationship with your brother. As a child, you looked up to him but as you got older, you couldn’t help but distance yourself from him.

Oikawa sits beside you and listens to you intently. You continue, “he’s really great it’s just…” You look down at your hands as you clench and unclench them. “…We get compared a lot. He’s seriously talented.” You sigh and lean back on the bench, eyes closing and feeling the cool breeze brush against your cheeks. “It’s not that bad during the year when Jun is away but when he’s here it gets hard not to compare us. My dad, he…” you trail off. “…he thinks I’m prepping for university after school.” You let out a laugh. “As you can see, he’s not fond of me spending so much time with art. He thinks it’s just a hobby.” You bit your lip, getting frustrated over the fact that your vision started to blur.

Not even a beat later, you found your head resting on Oikawa’s shoulder, his hand resting gently on your head. He softly combs through your hair with his fingers, successfully calming down your nerves. “… I paint after school anyway,” you mumble after a few minutes of silence. “I figured if I produced something great enough, my dad would finally understand how much I love it. That’s why when Tadashi told me about the exhibition, I jumped on the opportunity.” You close your eyes and shift yourself on a more comfortable position on his shoulder. “I’m not even sure they would want to come to it.” You end off your complaints with a sigh you’ve been holding in.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents,” you murmur. “It’s just they expect a lot out of me. Especially since they saw what Jun can do.” You play with your fingers rested on your lap. “Those things they want me to be…I don’t strive to be that at all.” You let out a quiet laugh.

Oikawa stops combing through your hair and just rests his hand on your head. “What do you think about someone telling me to choose between them or volleyball?”

You lift your head from his shoulder, surprised. “I don’t think that’s fair at all!” Your eyes widened at your volume and he just chuckles and urges you to continue. “…I mean, you love volleyball so it certainly doesn’t make sense to take it away from you…”

He grins at your answer. “Exactly. Why let anyone take something you love away from you?” He playfully pokes the tip of your nose. “Didn’t you talk to me about potential? Now let me remind you about yours.”

He leans his side against you, sharing his warmth against the cool night air. “[Surname] [Name]. A person who sees the beauty in what she works on in so many perspectives.” He stares up at the cloudless sky and in a soft murmur voices out, “now if only this Rudolph could see that her nose can light a path for her as well.” He turns to give you one of his playful winks and you couldn’t help but find it so reassuring at this point in time.

“Also…” he lightly pokes your nose, making you instinctively scrunch it. “I better get an invitation for the exhibit.”

Taking in Oikawa’s words made you feel light, like the burden that you’ve been holding had slowly begun to let up. You lean on his shoulder and sit with each other in silence, each of you guys already saying what you needed to say. This silence was a blanket of comfort to you, making a silent pact that transferred waves of support to each other.

He reminded you that it was okay that you couldn’t be strong all the time and that when you faltered, he would be there for you. At the same time, he encouraged you to move forward slowly but steadily towards the path you created for yourself.

You knew you could get past this hurdle, but just like most problems, it takes time.

 _I hope I can support you too_. Your unvoiced thoughts traveled through the night air.

Oikawa chuckled as if catching onto those thoughts.

“You’ve supported me more times than I can count.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello teenage angst my old friend
> 
> *confetti* cheers, I made people sad I’m sorry but reality isn’t
> 
> Fanart: http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Name-and-Ami-614797788
> 
> Update: Splash of Color once a week on Saturday or Sunday MDT (Chapter 17 on June 25 or 26, 2016)


	17. Progression

Currently, you were at a café with your brother Jun. After your talk with Oikawa last night, you decided to take a step forward and at least make attempts to bridge the gap you created with your brother during the past couple years. You felt anxious but still motivated to finally face your problems head on. Sitting in your seat, you drum your fingers against the table as you waited for Jun to return from the washroom. You glance over at your empty plate that once held a delicious pastry, grimacing over the fact that one was definitely not enough.

A couple minutes later, Jun returns and takes a seat across from you, putting down another plate of dessert and sliding it towards you. “You seemed to have a hard time deciding which one to get so I got this one too.” He gives you a warm smile. “I’m pretty sure you need more than one plate of dessert to be satisfied.”

You blink at the new dessert placed in front of you and feel your nerves relax before shooting Jun an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, that part hasn’t changed at all.”

Jun takes a small sip of his coffee before he sets it down. “…That’s good.” He gives you a soft smile before he places his elbows on the table, his hands clasping together so his chin could rest on it. “So what has changed?”

You think about his question for a moment. Was he asking about what had happened between you two or was he simply asking how you have been during all these years? For now you settled for the second option since you still weren’t comfortable enough to share as you did with Oikawa. All that time apart created an invisible awkwardness between you two so you decided to break the ice with something more light hearted.

“I definitely grew.” You shoot him a serious look as his eyes squint at your form.

“You sure?” His head tilts from side to side, trying to evaluate and see if you did in fact get any taller.

You nod firmly. “Positive.” You grin as you see Jun’s face crack a smile and let a chuckle escape his lips. “So how have things been for you?”

Jun’s face becomes more subdued as he looks at you with an expression you couldn’t decipher. “Ah, nothing much to report about that actually.” He shrugs dismissively. “Same stuff that you heard about during dinner last night.”

The silence returns as you scramble to think of something to say. While you did so, you remembered the tickets you had stuffed inside your pocket before you left the house.

“Actually…” You fish inside your pocket and pull out a ticket for Jun nervously. “I entered in an exhibit here and it’ll be this coming week.” You glance away from him as soon as you placed the ticket on the table. “So if you wanted to come…”

You don’t hear Jun respond and you turn back to look at his expression warily. Your nerves are blown away when he presents you with an approving smile. “Heh, it seems like you certainly did some growing.” He picks up the ticket on the table gingerly. “I’ll definitely come.”

You beamed at his response, the rest of the uneasy feeling in your stomach fading away. “Thanks Jun.”

Jun smiles gently at you before waving his ticket by his face. “No, thank _you_ for letting me come to your first exhibition.”

You smile at him with a grateful expression before you look down, your fingers starting to play with each other. “Actually, I wanted to invite the parents too but…” You trailed off.

Jun lets out a hum in thought. “We can talk to them about it when we get home.” Jun gives you a wink.

You’re stunned at what you hear. _We._ You and Jun.

For the longest time, you’ve been trudging on this path you’ve created on your own. To have Jun say something as little as that brought hope in your heart. He accepted what you loved. He accepted _you._

As much as you loved having your friends support you in your efforts, something about having family do the same felt different to you.

Jun gives you a knowing look. “For now, let’s head home.”

You both stand up from your seats and give each other an awkward smile. Although your relationship was not fully mended just yet, you both knew that through time, it would be.

Jun speaks again, succeeding in pulling you out of your thoughts. “Don’t think too hard about it. I’ll be beside you when we talk to the parents.”

You grin at him. “Thanks Jun.”

~~

The walk back home made your stomach churn nervously. Now that you had said it there was no going back, not that you wanted to anyway. You truly did want to at least give your parents tickets to the exhibit. Of course you wanted them to come but you were too scared to actually be vocal with the whole taking art seriously thing. You were scared of letting them down; too scared to say anything about it without showing them a product you were proud of.

You shook your head at your thoughts.

It made you realize that you still had a long way to go. Your parents were not mind readers so if you never vocalized your concerns they couldn’t know about it. However, though you didn’t feel comfortable telling them everything all at once, you knew you would let it all out in the open eventually.

Oikawa popped into your head. You had always took stride and got to the bottom of things before they got out of hand with him. Even if he hadn’t told you everything, at least there was an understanding between the two of you. It reminded you that understanding went both ways. They took time and effort.

You think back to your parents. Had you really taken the time to make an effort with them or had you just assumed that it was just the way things would always be? You knew for a fact that it wouldn’t though. People change, develop and improve—just at their own pace.

Your mind was clear when you went home with one thought in your head. If you wanted to them to understand you, you also had to work hard to understand them. Just like how Ami would stick by you when you were upset and not ask for any clarifications. Or how Tadashi would give you a gentle smile and continue to encourage you in your painting.

It also reminded you that understanding doesn’t come instantly so you had to be patient. Jun had patiently waited for you to be comfortable to talk with him again and Oikawa waited for you to speak out about your troubles all on your own.

You smiled to yourself. Even if they weren’t all there with you right now physically, they were a part of you.

You were never alone.

~~

Somehow, you’ve managed to sit everyone down in the living room, your parents sat on one couch while you and Jun sat on the one across. Your heart was thumping anxiously as you watched your parents stare down at the tickets you have placed on the table.

Your dad was the last to look up from the tickets, immediately looking you in the eye. “…When is it?”

You straighten your posture on the couch and tell him the date as you observed him nod while taking the tickets off the table. Silence filled the room as everyone just looked at him while he was contemplating. Finally, your dad looks to your mom. “You’re free on Saturday right?” As soon as your mom confirms with a yes he grunts, slowly standing up from his seat.

Once he’s fully up, he glances at you once more. You instinctively held your breath at his knowing look. He knew what you’ve been up to after school. His lack of words for that now known fact was incredibly nerve wrecking. Was he mad? Would he tell you to drop out of the exhibit? Your thoughts kept swirling deeper and deeper into itself until you heard him let out a sigh, like he seemed relieved in a way.

“We’ll talk about this more after your art exhibition.” With that, he walks off, leaving you in the room with your mother and brother.

You stare at his retreating back with confusion. Was that a yes?

The sound of movement from the couch across from you snapped your head back to face your mom who was also standing up from her seat. “Ah! It’s time for me to start lunch!”

As she walks into the kitchen, you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. What catches you off guard was how your mom airily slipped in, “You know, I wouldn’t mind an artist for a daughter either~” before she fully went into the kitchen.

You blinked in disbelief. You gave Jun a side glance as he lightly pats your back with a smile plastered on his face. “Hey, it seems they gave you a chance! Nice job!”

It reminded you that although they weren’t the best at expressing themselves with their words, each and every action they showed you spoke for itself. They were giving you a chance; they wanted to see what you would be showing in the exhibit.

It seems that they’ve been waiting for you as well.

~~

After you dealt with your family business, you called up Oikawa on your phone. You weren’t sure if he was free today but you really wanted to tell him what had just happened. To your surprise, phone rings only once before he answered the call.

“Rudolph~ I’m touched you called me on a weekend!” You could almost see him grinning through the phone. You ignore it.

“Hey, are you busy today?” You pull the phone back a little when you hear the phone drop on the ground loudly. “A-are you okay?! What just happened?”

The other line is just filled with shuffling and incoherent mutters before you heard Oikawa again.

“Ah~ What a surprise! A wasp got in so I dropped my phone!” You were about to ask about the wasp but he continued talking. “I am totally free~ Where do you want to meet?”

You scratched your head confusedly, slightly worried about the possibility of him still being in the room with the wasp. “Is the park by the café okay with you?” You check the time. “Is thirty minutes enough time?”

He hums in agreement. “I’ll see you there in thirty!” He quickly ends the call and you pull back your phone, staring at it.

After a few seconds you get over it and shrug. You hope he got rid of that wasp.

~~

Once you arrived at the park you heard someone call your name. You turn around and see Oikawa sitting by the bench close by, waving you over.

“I thought for sure I’d beat you here,” you tease as you reach him. Oikawa grins and stands up from the bench.

“You have such little faith in me!” He dramatically stretches one of his arms out, his other hand placed on his chest, feigning hurt. He winks at you and rests his previously raised arm on top of your shoulder while you guys start walking around the park. “So, what’s up?”

“My family is coming to the exhibit!” You look up at him with a big grin. “Oh and I almost forgot!” You stuff your hand in your pocket and pull out a ticket for Oikawa. “As promised~”

Your eyes catch his and you shoot him your brightest smile. You felt elated over the news and just being able to share it with Oikawa. Your smile falters a little when you see Oikawa give you a strange look, a slight tinge of pink resting on his cheeks. It’s gone as soon as you blink again, now seeing Oikawa’s trademark broad smile as he takes the ticket off your hands. “Can’t wait~”

His arm slips off your shoulders and grips both his hands on them instead as he fully faces you. “This calls for a celebration! Lets go to the bakery close by and grab some cake!”

You stare at him for a moment. There were so much feelings swirling within you right now: relief, joy, thankfulness, and something else you couldn’t identify. You didn’t know how to put it all into words. Oikawa looked expectantly for a response as you were contemplating.

Blinking once, you nod at what you have decided. Raising your arms slightly, you gently wrap your arms around Oikawa’s torso, feeling him go stiff in surprise. You hoped that he could sense all those feelings you couldn’t put into words right now.

However, Oikawa’s body never relaxed in your hug so you let go of him promptly, stepping back nervously. Once you look up at him, you notice tears in the corner of his eyes. “Are you crying?!” You make a move to step towards him but he puts his hand up to stop you from going any closer, his other hand using the heels of his palm to wipe away the evidence.

“No! I just feel a little emotional…” He looks away and blinks his eyes a couple times before turning back to you. “That was the first time you initiated a hug!” His eyes drill into yours with a determined expression. “One more time!”

Once he raises his arms awaiting another hug, you shrink back, starting to feel embarrassed. “What? No! One is enough!”

Oikawa pouts when you start slowly backing away from him. “Hmph. I’ll just have to do more things to make you hug me again.” He puts arms down, making you stop walking back. His gaze locks onto something behind you. “Hey, isn’t that your brother?” He points in the direction he was referring to.

“What? Where?” You turn to look at where his pointed finger was leading to, your back turning towards him. Oikawa grins and slips his arms around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder. “Ah—hey Oikawa!”

He hums at you happily, ignoring the contrasting unhappy tone in your voice. “Well, if you won’t hug me, then I will~”

You huff at his persistence and just let him hug you. Surprisingly, you actually didn’t mind it as much as you thought. You probably wouldn’t let him know that you’ve gotten used it though. Glancing at Oikawa from the corner of your eye, you agree with your thoughts. You could just tell that he’d abuse that information if you ever let him know.

“…If you don’t let me go we’ll never make it to the bakery…”

~~

Your eyes darted back and forth from one pastry to another as Oikawa glanced at you from the side, the corners of his mouth twitching up into an amused smile. Sighing, you look up at Oikawa. “Hey, what do you want from here?” You point at the display of various pastries. He steps towards the display case to take a closer look before pointing at one of the cakes you were eyeing.

“I’ll take this one,” he hums as he smiles at you teasingly. “Which means you’ll take…that one?” He points to the other cake you were eying. You let out a sheepish smile and nod at his spot on guess.

After both of you had decided, you look into your bag to find your wallet but once you looked back up, Oikawa was already at the counter, paying for the two pastries. As he finishes paying, he holds the plates and walks up to you with a grin. “So, where are we sitting?”

You open your mouth to protest but he starts walking towards a table, to which you followed, grumbling a bit. Once you guys sat down, you try to speak again but he holds up his hand to halt your words.

“It’s a celebration so you’re letting me have this one~” He winks as he slides your pastry towards you. “Besides, celebrating with me is priceless, isn’t it?”

You scoff. “I’m pretty sure you mean celebrating with _me_ is priceless, right?” You retort teasingly before having a bite out of your pastry.

Oikawa chuckles, cutting a piece of his cake and popping it into his mouth. “Great minds think alike~”

You roll your eyes at him before you remember something. “Ah, I still have to let Ami know what happened today!” Pulling out your phone, you sent a quick text to Ami, asking if she wanted to celebrate with you and Oikawa at the bakery.

Your phone buzzes right away and you glance back at it.

**Ami: I’ll meet with you tomorrow! have fun (;**

You ignore the last half of the message and respond with plans to meet tomorrow. As you finish, you look back up, your eyes catching Oikawa’s cake with interest.

Oikawa notices your intense gaze on his cake and chuckles. “I could give this to you but…”

“—No thanks.” You don’t let him finish as you see his expression drop to a pout.

“You didn’t even know what I was going to say!”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I do.”

“I just wanted to have a bite of yours!” He says quickly, feeling proud of himself for being able to finish what he wanted to say.

You blinked. “Oh, I guess I was—”

“If you feed it to me~”

“—Right after all.”

For a few moments you just give him a deadpanned look contrasting his broad smile, clearly expecting you to feed him. Looking back at his cake you let out a deep sigh before glancing back at yours and cutting out a piece. After you balance the piece on the fork, your eyes snap up to Oikawa’s excited ones. You could practically feel him bouncing in his seat as he opens his mouth a little.

“Ahh—mmph! You shove the piece in his mouth as it closes shut in surprise, the fork sticking out of his mouth. He lets out a muffle of protest as you slide his cake over to you, smiling happily at the new pastry.

As you take a bite out of your honestly earned cake, you let out a hum of delight. Oikawa pulls out the fork in his mouth, still chewing on the piece you gave him. “I guess you haven’t had someone feed you in a while~”

“Well being fed like that was a first…” he grumbles.

Rolling your eyes at his sulking form, you grab a bite from your own pastry. “I’m guessing that you’ve been fed more gently then?” This was a first for Oikawa to even imply his past relationships and you were genuinely curious to see what else he had to say.

“I guess so…” he trails off. His face takes on his broad smile when he continues speaking. “But I’d take being fed by you any day!”

You quirk your brow at his blatant flirt thrown your way. “You might have a better chance using that line on someone else Spotty.”

He lets out a huff. “I’m not focused on that right now.” He glances out the window.

You bit the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from teasing him further. The tone of his voice was a good indicator to know that he was upset. “Right, volleyball is priority.” You say instead, making him turn back to you. “I guess we’re the same that way.”

“How so?” Oikawa questions, his elbows finding its way on the table and resting on it.

“Kind of like how art is my priority.” You beam at him while you cut another piece of cake, popping it in your mouth.

Oikawa hums at your response. “Just so you know, volleyball isn’t my only priority anymore,” he says slowly.

You let out a noise to question what his other priorities were since your mouth was still full. His eyes locks onto yours, making you unable to pull away for reasons unknown to you. You chew your piece for a few more seconds and swallow it, everything seemingly piecing together. You smile softly. “Yeah, making sure you guys are okay is also my priority…”

Oikawa’s eyes look hopeful as you continue speaking. “You, Ami, Tadashi… You guys are such precious friends to me.” You look down, a little embarrassed that you had said something so cheesy out loud. Your head snaps back up when you feel a hard flick on your forehead. “Ah! What was that for?”

You’re met with Oikawa’s pouting expression, his eyes now avoiding yours. Apparently, you hadn’t said what he wanted to hear. Your hands slap itself on your forehead to protect it from future attacks. “Are we not friends now or something?”

His hand runs through his hair as he sighs loudly, his head turning away from you and muttering something you didn’t hear clearly. Something about patience… “Hah~ You figure it out! I don’t want to say it!”

You pout. “That’s hardly fair!”

“Well neither are you!” He sticks his tongue out at you childishly as you pursed your lips at his actions. You let out an internal sigh.

Looks like you’d have to wait for Oikawa as well.


	18. (T)ease

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

You had finished preparing your works in the exhibit and was now currently waiting for the exhibition to start. There was a slight chatter in the open space, the other artists also putting the finishing touches on their displays. Looking at the clock every so often, you continue to take deep breaths to calm yourself. After a few more deep breaths, you tear your eyes away from the clock you’ve been eyeing for the millionth time and decide to go to the washroom to freshen up.

Since it was a special event, the dress code for the exhibit was formal wear. You fixed your hair that you had taken more time to do that day and smoothed out your dress. Glancing in the mirror, you let out a disgruntled sigh. Most of your lipstick had come off during your many water breaks of trying to calm yourself down. Pulling out your small make up bag from your purse, you take the time to touch up your make up, applying some more rouge on your lips.

You jump when you feel your phone buzz in your purse and then pull out your phone after putting your small make up bag back in your purse. As you check the text, your eyes widen a smidge at the message.

**Oikawa: I came early! Where are you?**

You text him back promptly to let him know you were on your way to meet up with him before stuffing your phone back in your purse. Checking the time, you let out a resigned sigh. There was still half an hour before the event started.

As you got to the entrance, you see Oikawa through the glass doors, looking around. He notices you when you get closer to the doors, him freezing up suddenly. You raise your brow at him. Did you come at the wrong time?

Opening the door, you shoot him a teasing smile. “You know, I could mistake you for a statue right now.” You poke his side, making him jerk back from your finger. “Ah, there we go! There’s Oikawa~”

His cheeks puff at you before he walks inside while you close the door and follow after him. “I can see why it was a formal event…” He lets out a whistle, nodding at the set up. After Oikawa gets a good look at his surroundings, he turns back to you. “That is a _very_ good look for you Rudolph~” He winks at you before playfully saying, “I guess red doesn’t only look good on your nose!”

Your eyes narrow slightly at his teasing, lips forming a small pout as Oikawa looks at you smugly while he waits for your retort. You rack your brain to throw back a witty retort but come up with nothing, biting the inside of your cheek in thought. When you turn to look back at Oikawa, you finally process his appearance. He had left his blazer open, his dress shirt firmly pressed and tucked into his fitted slacks as a black tie securely hung around his neck. Oikawa notices you eyeing his outfit, his smug smile widening further. “Pretty good look right?” His smile falters when you stare at him blankly, resulting in him starting to shift around awkwardly, looking seemingly unsure of himself as he waited for you to say something.

You blink up at him, surprised. Was he self-conscious?

Your eyes soften at his fidgeting form, lightly gripping the sleeve of his blazer so he could meet your eyes. “You know, you’re a real work of _art._ ” You grin at your little at your pun as you catch him let out a snort, a pleased smile slowly forming on his face. You let go of his sleeve before you fully turn away from him, internally patting yourself on the back.

That’s when you realized that out of all the facial expressions he made, you definitely liked his smiling one the best.

“C’mon, I’ll sneak you some of the treats in the backroom before the exhibit opens~”

~~

As the doors finally opened, you instinctively held your breath when you saw your family and Ami look around before spotting you. Oikawa clasped his hand on your shoulder for a moment before squeezing it in reassurance and then letting go. Ami ran up to you first and gripped your hands in excitement, her eyes sparkling.

“This is really happening! Wow look at this, and look at you!” She looks over your overall appearance and lets out a hum of approval.

You let out laugh. “Yeah, it’s really happening…” Ami lets go of your hands and you straighten yourself out when your parents and Jun make it over to you. Jun and your mom throw a smile your way to which you return before you see them looking expectantly at your dad.

Your dad clears his throat, fixing his tie out of habit. “…Which one is yours?”

A wide smile threatens to break your face as he looks around curiously. “Oh, um, yes, I’ll show you right now! Come with me!” You urge everyone to follow you to the display you’ve taken ages to fix up to your satisfaction.

Once you make it to one of your first works, you slowly turn around, anxiously anticipating their thoughts on it. As you do so, you see your parents carefully look at your work, like they were taking note of every stroke and dab of color your paintbrush left behind. To see them take interest made your heart swell. You were glad you worked up the courage to tell them about your interests properly.

Jun gives you a light pat on your shoulder, you turning your attention to him. He lifts one of his index fingers discreetly to his lips as he then points it towards your parents. You look at where he was pointing with a confused expression until you notice what your mom was holding in her hands discreetly. It looked like a thin book? You turn back to Jun for clarification to what he just pointed out to you. He chuckles and says in a low voice, “it’s a glossary of art terms and techniques. They were studying hard on it during the week to give them more background on the paintings.”

Your head snapped back up towards your parents in disbelief before looking back at Jun with the same expression. He catches your questioning gaze and lets out what he thinks to be an innocent hum. “Keep up the good work little sis!” He pats your shoulder one last time before he takes a place beside the parents.

You narrow your eyes at Jun’s retreating back; he was leaving you with a lot of unanswered questions. After a moment, you let out resigned sigh. Whatever he was doing helped bridge the gap between you and your parents, little by little.

Your ears perk up at the sound of someone calling your name. When you look up, you see Tadashi walking over to you with a pleasant smile on his face.

“Ah, I see everyone came!” He smiles as he looks over the guests you had brought. “I’m glad.” His eyes lock onto something behind you, his face now wearing a smile you weren’t familiar with, or rather, couldn’t decipher. “Nice to see you here Oikawa.”

You jump a little at the sudden pressure on your shoulders, Oikawa pulling your back flush against his chest. You stiffened at his actions. “Off!” You squirm under his grip.  

Oikawa doesn’t answer you, his eyes still locked on Tadashi.

Tadashi blinks in surprise before he laughs lightly. He turns his attention back to you, ignoring Oikawa’s sudden actions. You decide to do the same for now. “I take it this one is yours?” Tadashi gestures towards the painting your parents were still looking at and nods at it admiringly. “Beautiful. You never cease to amaze me on how you capture things.”

You beam at his comment. “Same to you! I heard Sunset Muse got a lot of attention!” Tadashi stiffens for a moment before he smiles again, his eyes holding a faraway look.

He laughs quietly to himself. “…Yeah, I’m glad. It’s one of my favorites.” The look he throws your way surprises you and soon after you feel the arms around your shoulders tighten.

About to tell Oikawa to get off you once more, Ami bounds over to you guys before you could. “Tadashi-kun! There you are!” She plants herself by Tadashi. “I have a question about one of the works over…there.” The work Ami points at is on the other side of the room. You quirk your brow at Ami but she ignores it and hums happily once Tadashi gives you an apologetic look, walking off with Ami.

Once they walk off, Oikawa’s arms loosen up on your shoulders, making it easier to shrug off his arms. As you do so, you couldn’t help but note at how compliant Oikawa was now. He was just all over the place. “Just what am I going to do with you…” you mutter to yourself as you gain your personal space back.

Oikawa catches it anyway and responds accordingly. “Well you keep me around of course~”

You let out a huff at his response, your arms stretching out forwards between you two when you notice Oikawa start to step closer. “Not another step!” You narrow your eyes at his confused expression. “You have to respect my personal space. So until you do, you can only be this close.” You gesture to the length of your arm separating you two.

He whines at your proposition as he tried to get closer to you but you kept backing away. He stops walking and pouts, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “…Fine.” When you see that Oikawa begrudgingly agrees to your condition, only then do you step towards him, leaving a comfortable gap between you two.

“C’mon, I still have to show you some other works Spotty!”

~~

As you were excitedly showing Oikawa your other works, you couldn’t help but feel elated at how he thoughtfully looked at each work and then gave you a soft smile every time he looked back at you.

Oikawa couldn’t get enough of you. The way the corners of your eyes would crinkle from smiling so wide, or how you tugged his sleeve to show him other pieces that grabbed your interest, effectively breaking your own personal space rule—not that _he_ had much of a problem with it. He liked being around you, showing him the things that you loved to do. He wondered if you felt just as thrilled as he did when you said you’d continue to watch each of his games after that day he held your hand for the first time. He was just so glad he could finally do the same for you.

He smiled fondly at you, occasionally nodding at your animated chatter as you explained what was going on in the work you two were currently looking at. Apparently, he had nodded a bit too much, causing you to pause midway and rub the back of your neck in embarrassment as you looked away from him. “…Ah, sorry, I’m talking too much aren’t I?”

Oikawa reaches out to touch your shoulder but halts, letting it drop back to his side. He reminded himself of your personal space, not wanting you to get mad at him again. Instead, Oikawa let out a chuckle, just loud enough for you to turn your head back to face him. Once you did so, he grins. “I may have been getting distracted by another wonderful work of art in front of me~” He feels pride well up in him when you giggle at his words.

“I already used that pun!”

The playful banter continues as you guys look through each work in the exhibit. As you walked around the exhibit with Oikawa, you took notice on how nice it was having him by your side. Not even just today, but whatever you guys ended up doing, it was just so enjoyable.

Unknown to you, his thoughts were the same.

~~

You break away from Oikawa for the moment as your parents and Jun walk up to you. The expressions on their faces were all different but they all seemed to hold the same thoughts. You slowly understood that that your parents weren’t very good at expressing themselves with words all that well so when your mom came up to you and brushed your hair so gently away from your face and your dad gave a miniscule nod, you knew that even if it was just today, they had enjoyed themselves.

Jun gave you a light pat on the shoulder, smiling down at you. “Thank you for inviting us today, will you be heading home with us?”

You shook your head. “I still have to some cleaning up to do after the exhibit closes, I’ll come home a little later.” You turn to your parents with a beaming smile. “Thank you for coming today, I really appreciate it.”

Your dad just grunts and turns his head, rubbing the back of his neck as your mom giggles at his response. She turns to you and winks lightly. “Just make sure we can come to any future ones alright?”

You nodded your head eagerly at her words as she shoots you a smile you weren’t accustomed to be at the receiving end of. Approval. She waves you goodbye as her arm links onto your dads as they walk away.

Jun stays behind for a moment, handing you a business card. “Oh, here’s my number. Call me if something comes up.”

Your head tilts slightly in confusion. “Hm? Like what?”

He gives you a look, letting you know you’d hear about it soon. “Don’t worry, you’ll know when it happens.” He smiles at you softly. “You’ve been looking through art schools right?”

You let out a disgruntled noise. “I guess. But there’s none in the area. I’d have to live in a dorm but that’ll be pushing it with the funds.”

His lighthearted laugh makes you raise your brow at him, wondering what was so amusing about the situation. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” He gives you a little wink and chuckles, “a little luck is good too.”

With that, he says his goodbyes and walks off to catch up with the parents. Your eyes blink slowly, trying to process what he was trying to tell you. Something big was going to happen soon, but what would it be?

Oikawa stops beside you soon after. “Need any help cleaning up?”

Your head tilts at his sudden offer but the next few words that follow after make you understand why he offered in the first place.

“In exchange for a free meal of course~ I’m so hungry!”

“Was the snacks in the back not enough?”

“Well I wouldn’t be asking if they were!”

~~

After you had finished cleaning up, you had invited Ami and Tadashi to join you two, to which they agreed. Ami clung onto your arm, much to Oikawa’s displeasure since he wasn’t able to do the same. She grinned up at Oikawa and teased him, saying that he couldn’t hog you all the time and that you needed to celebrate with everyone. He just huffs at her words, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking away—a little peeved that he couldn’t disagree.

Like the financially stable teens you were, you all ended up grabbing some food at the convenience store and decided to have a spontaneous picnic at the park. It was somewhat amusing, everyone still dressed up and buying a little snack to eat. Being true to your word, you asked Oikawa what he wanted to eat so you could get it for him. He grins and unsurprisingly chooses milk bread. 

Once everyone had bought their food, you guys all decided to find a quiet space in a park, the very same one that you have come to more often in this past month. Everyone agreed upon a more secluded area so there wouldn’t be as much questioning looks at the four of you being dressed as you were—well mostly everyone. Oikawa was having a blast seeing people double take at his appearance, him following up with a wink at each person that did so.

You roll your eyes at his antics and trudge forward, leaving Oikawa to his own devices. It doesn’t take long for him to return by your side, leaving a gap between you two as you guys walked. You were surprised when you found yourself anticipating his arm slung on your shoulder or for him to just be clung onto your side, even though it made it more difficult to move. Giving him a side glance, he immediately takes notice and shoots you a smile. You blinked up at him until it finally clicked.

He was actually listening to your complaints from earlier. He was giving you your personal space like you asked.

As much as that made you grateful, you didn’t want the gap between you two to continue to stay there. Subtly, you bump your shoulder to his arm lightly. You weren’t sure what to say to him but you wanted him to act like he usually did.

He blinks at you in confusion and your nose scrunches at the fact that you actually had to say something. “…Thanks for respecting my personal space.” You mumble out, a little embarrassed at what you had just implied.

Oikawa takes in your words before his face brightens into a broad smile, his arm slinging onto your shoulder not even a second later. He hums happily as you two walk on with Ami and Tadashi.

It seems that in the end, you’ve let Oikawa know you got used to him anyway. You snuck a side glance at his sunny expression. At least you knew that if he did abuse the information you gave him, he would respect and listen to what you had to say.

~~

Finally arriving at a suitable area to eat snacks and hang out, everyone settled onto the soft grass and started opening up their packages. Ami lifts up her drink and shoots you a wink. “Cheers to [Name]’s first art exhibition!”

Oikawa and Tadashi follow suit as you shift in your spot, embarrassed at the sudden attention. You take a small sip from your drink and look towards your three close friends before giving them a beaming smile. You lift your drink soon after. “Cheers!”

Everyone gives a light hearted laugh at the sunny atmosphere and begins to dig into their snacks after the cheers were out of the way. A little while later, Tadashi offers you some of his chips, tilting the bag of chips in your direction.

“Hey [Surname], do you want some?” He gives you a gentle smile and you nod your head at his offer, reaching your hand over and opening your mouth to say yes. As you do so, another hand cuts off your attempts to get some chips and your eyes trail from the hand to Oikawa’s hard expression directed at Tadashi. You open your mouth once more to complain when the said chip you wanted to take was popped into your mouth, a finger pressing your lips shut.

You blink in surprise but you instinctively chew as your eyes dart from Tadashi’s stunned expression to Ami’s excited ones. When you look to Oikawa, you quirk your brow at the mischievous look on his face before looking down at the finger still pressed on your lips.

He takes his finger off your lips gently as soon as you swallow the chip he fed you before giving you a smug smile. “And _that_ is how you feed someone~”

Ami is clung to your side the moment Oikawa utters those words and you’re bombarded with questions as you give Oikawa a narrow glare when he hums nonchalantly, his head turned away from you.

You let out a huff as you grabbed the roll of milk bread away from his side so he wouldn't be able to have anymore, took a slice and roughly bit into it, shooting Oikawa a smug smile of your own at his now crestfallen expression.

Two could play that game.

~~

As the sun started to set, everyone started packing their things and parting in different directions to head home. Tadashi left first, getting a text from his dad about some things he had to organize for another exhibit the following day and Ami left next when her little brother called to tell her to come home for dinner soon.

This left you with Oikawa again who now made it a habit to walk you home most of the time after that day you invited him over for dinner. The walk home with Oikawa was a quiet and peaceful one which was surprising considering the antics you two had pulled against each other today. You two walked side by side, his arm slung around your shoulder along with his light hums which filled up the silence between you two, giving it that slight Oikawa charm that you had grown used to.

Too soon did you guys reach your home, Oikawa’s arm slipping off your shoulders and feeling a slight chill run up your spine a moment later. He gives you a soft smile which throws you back, not used to receiving such a genuine expression. He chuckles at the face you made and lightly pokes your forehead, reverting it back into your normal expression. “Thanks for inviting me [Name]-chan.”

Your heart squeezed in a pleasant way as he said your name in such a soft tone, almost like a whisper. It was the first time he had said your first name—no nicknames or surnames attached. You could only nod at the surprise attack he had thrown your way, a little peeved you were reacting so strangely to it.

You reasoned it was because he usually wasn’t so up front about being genuine right at the start and it had just caught you off guard. But as he gave you a soft pat on the head and was about to walk off, you knew you couldn’t let him get the last say.

Your hand gripped his sleeve as he turned away, making him look confusedly at you. Your other hand made a motion to make him lean in closer to you, watching as his eyes widened and his head instinctively drew back a little before following your motions. As he was leaning in closer to your face, you let go of his sleeve and stretched out your arms to capture him in a hug. You ignore how he stiffens up once more as you rested your head on his chest.

After a few moments you mumbled out a reply for Oikawa. “Thanks for coming…Tōru-kun.” When you speak out his name, it also comes out as a soft whisper, not used to letting out a foreign word escape your lips.

As soon as the words escape your lips, you feel strong arms wrapped tightly against your form.

“…You’re welcome.”

You guys stay like that for a couple more seconds before you start shifting under his hold. He grumbles and tries to regain the same position as before but snaps out of it when you clear your throat.

“Uh, I have to head in now.” As you push away from Oikawa, you notice his face had turned a lovely shade of red. The corners of your lips twitch up into an amused smile. “Hm, I guess I don’t need Iwaizumi-kun to make sure you’re your wonderfully Spotty self~” You wave goodbye as soon as you let out your final teasing comment for the day and you make your way to the front door to open it.

Surprisingly, he says nothing and lets you go, giving you a small wave as you finally shut the door to your home. When you were finally in the house, you felt your cheeks, trying to cool it down before anyone in your family saw you.

~~

Meanwhile, as you entered your home, Oikawa idly stood outside for a few more minutes. His mind kept replaying the scene that happened just a while ago, his heart pounding as hard as it would during his practice days.

You said his name.

You gave him another hug.

You guys stayed like that for a good minute!

Oikawa didn’t even mind if you were trying to get back at him, he still felt like he won more than he bargained for. However, he didn’t know how much longer it would take for you to figure it out because if you didn’t do it soon he’d have to take matters into his own hands.

He was too far in now to get out of this mess he got into.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaa… romance is such a messy thing, like I have plans for a chapter but as I write it goes in a completely different direction.
> 
> Anyhow, I appreciate for your patience and support thus far <3 Thanks for the comments, I love hearing what you guys think!  
> (where this lovely fan art shows everyone some highlights from scenes in this story):  
> kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Oh-617619526  
> kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Thanks-618631592
> 
> Update: Splash of Color once a week on Saturday or Sunday MDT.   
> Chapter 20 on July 9 or 10, 2016


	19. Jun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side chapter surprise! I present you Jun’s perspective!
> 
> *NEW!!* Edit: I wasn’t satisfied with this chapter so I edited it more to make it flow better. I apologize for this rushed side chapter if you have read this previous to the edit, I like to keep my scheduled updates on time…

Once a year Jun would find time to visit his hometown to catch up with your guys’ parents, his high school classmates…and you. He couldn’t pinpoint when it exactly happened but the divide between you two seemed to grow wider and wider each passing year. You always had something to do when he visited but he hoped that this year would be the year where he could at least try and mend things that were breaking over time.

Jun wasn’t ignorant to why you were acting this way towards him. There was a lot of pressure coming from a lot of different areas, it wasn’t unusual to feel overwhelmed by it all. What he didn’t like was how the pressure was stopping you from the things he knew you loved to do.

After you had left to walk Oikawa out, the dinner table became quieter, the parents mulling over if what they said was too much and Jun mulling over how he should of spoken up sooner. He glanced at his half eaten plate and looked up towards his parents. He wanted to make sure you got the chance you deserved.

Jun’s hand reaches into his pants pocket as it brushes against a pamphlet containing information on an art university around where he works. Jun had obtained it while he was in contact with one of his acquaintances. He supposed that this pamphlet would be a good time to throw in that chance for you.

He sighs as he combs his fingers through his hair to compose himself, the sound making the parents turn their attention to him. Jun is quiet for a while until he gathers his bearings before he finally speaks. “There’s an art school close by my place that [Name] can try applying for. It’ll also save a lot of money rather than living in a dorm.” He pulls out a slightly wrinkled pamphlet from his pants pocket and hands it to your dad.

Jun pauses for a moment, trying to figure out his next few words. Your dad looks at your brother expectantly, knowing he still had more to say. However, Jun turns away from the expectant gaze, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Although he was unsure of his opinion on your particular matter held much value, he wanted to support you in any way he could.

A moment more passes until Jun finally mulls up the will to speak again. “…I’ll let you decide whether to let her know about that option or not. It’s still important to have everyone’s support.”

Your dad glances at the art pamphlet with a scrutinizing gaze, putting his attention on each section of the pamphlet and then handing over the pamphlet to your mom before turning his attention back to Jun. “…We’d like to do some research on this art school you were referring to before we do anything else.”

Jun lets out an internal sigh of relief as he nods at your dad. “I leave it up to you. Thank you for considering it.”

The relief calmed down his nerves as he glanced back at his half eaten plate before making a move to finish the rest of it. By the way the parents had reacted to his proposal, there was a definite chance that you would be able to pursue art out of high school.

Knowing that your will and motivation was building up in strength, Jun felt it was time to let the parents know about the art school considering when he saw you for dinner that day. Your eyes held that light he hadn’t seen for ages and when Oikawa walked up beside you he knew how exactly you got it back.

He would have to thank Oikawa if he has a chance to talk to him again.

~~

In the middle of the week, prior to your art exhibition, Jun obtained an art book from the book store containing basic art terms and techniques he would see on Saturday. He was comfortably reading through the thin book as he was settled onto the couch in the living room. His mind filed through each term with immaculate speed as his brain absorbed the definitions like a sponge. He wanted to properly understand what you loved to do, especially now that you had finally let him into your little world.

Finally finishing the last page of the book, he closes it shut and places it on the table. Closing his eyes, he shifts himself on the couch and lies down on it, propping his feet on the arms of the couch. Jun takes this time to relax his mind for a couple minutes as he thinks through what he could do at this point forward.

The sound of the door to the living room creaking open leads Jun’s eyes to flutter open to identify who entered the room. The two males in the room catch each other’s eyes before your dad makes his way towards Jun.

Your dad looks to the lounging Jun for a moment before his eyes lock onto the lone book on the table. As your dad studies the title and the cover of the book, Jun observes him silently, trying to figure out what your dad was thinking about. A minute passes before your dad clears his throat a little awkwardly before pointing at the book. “Are you done with this?”

Jun blinks, surprised at your dad’s question and just nods. When Jun does so, your dad takes the book off the table, gives Jun a small nod and then walks out of the room without another word.

When Jun hears the door of the living room close shut, he chuckles. “We’re all so awkward.”

~~

When the day of your art exhibition came, Jun wasn’t surprised to see Oikawa by your side as he saw you chatting to him with a smile he hadn’t seen for far too long. He observed your interactions with Ami as she went ahead and began excitedly talking to you before him and your guys’ parents made it to you.

As the parents were chatting to you, Jun subtly fell into step beside Oikawa while you were preoccupied with showing everyone to your works. Oikawa gives Jun a broad smile before Jun spoke to him.

“It’s Oikawa right?”

Oikawa turns his attention towards Jun, the broad smile never leaving his face. “Ah, yes. And you would be [Surname]-san right?”

Jun chuckles and waves off the last bit of what Oikawa said. “Just Jun is fine by me. It would be quite confusing since the whole family is here.”

“Hm~ Jun-san then?” Oikawa’s words are light and airy, making Jun realize just how you managed to let loose even just a little bit.

Jun nods and lets out a hum of acknowledgement when Oikawa utters his name. “Yeah that’ll be fine by me.”

The conversation dies down after the formal introduction; both males glanced over to your elated expression as you were seen still excitedly showing everyone the paintings you made. It wasn’t hard to tell that you were thrilled that the parents had showed up.

Jun was so proud that you had taken a step forward, so glad you had found friends that supported what you love. But most of all…

“…I’m glad to see [Name] painting again,” Jun trails off softly. It was a part of you, and for you to take a step back in order to fulfill what you expected the parents wanted you to do instead broke his heart. More than anything, he wanted you to live a life that had an enjoyable journey and destination. He breaks out of his thoughts when he hears Oikawa let out a lighthearted laugh.

“I’m not sure she could ever stop painting!” Oikawa grins, his eyes sparkling with admiration for you. “She gives it her all and always tries to find solutions when one of her techniques sends her into a rut.”

Jun takes in Oikawa’s words, feeling more and more relieved as he repeated it to himself. Has it really been that long? He realized you were no longer the passive sister he had that blankly followed through with the parents expectations you thought they had for you. You had grown so much and were actively working to improve yourself in each and every step.

Oikawa rubs the back of his neck as his eyes lock onto your form. “You know, she’s glad that you’re here too.” Jun blinks in surprise as his eyes also dart to you before looking back to Oikawa.

When Oikawa doesn’t elaborate further, Jun gives Oikawa a smile before lightly patting his back and leaning in slightly. “I’ll let you in on a little tidbit,” he urges Oikawa to come closer to share the secret. “A certain someone’s special day is coming up soon, good luck.” Jun leans back and chuckles at Oikawa’s questioning gaze. “I’ll leave the rest for you to figure out~”

Feeling accomplished that he had also left something for Oikawa to mull over, Jun spares Oikawa a side grin before making his way over to you.

As Jun patted your shoulder to catch your attention, he observed your wondering gaze morph into a look of disbelief as he shared the information about the parent’s efforts.  He relished in the hints of excitement embedded within your expression before he excused himself from your side to get a better look at your work with the parents. After all, he didn’t want that art cram session to go to waste.

For most of the time in the exhibit Jun carefully took a look at each work you made, being blown away at the different styles you executed and the little hints of yourself put into each work. Although you had looked up to him as a child, he couldn’t help look up to you from this moment forward. The way you strived for what you loved at full force knocked him off his feet. You presented yourself as is in each and every work, not bothering to put up any sort of façade.

…A façade like what he had been putting up for ages. For once, Jun let his smile fall from his face and relaxed.

Unlike you, Jun had trouble presenting himself wholly as is. Everything came with a price after all. Since he had been gifted with a more than average intelligence, he found it hard to find people who genuinely wanted to befriend him.

It was always people using him to get to the top, to make themselves more likeable—he was like some sort of trophy that everyone each took turns using. He was everyone’s Jun, the guy who happened to bring in people because of what he did rather than what he was.

But would it be just the way it had to be?

It made him realize that he also had much to improve on as well. Seeing you breaking free and not compromising how you acted for the sake of others made Jun want to strive to do the same. You reminded him that development was not stagnant.

From that point on, he decided to leave his mask behind.

As he said his goodbyes, he laid his eyes on you for a moment and smiled fondly. He would work hard to find someone who would see him as he was, not what he did. Be it a friend or a lover, he wanted to become a Jun that was special to someone.

He trails his eyes over to an amusing scene before him. Oikawa had wrapped his arms almost possessively around you, giving the guy you were speaking to a hard stare. When you would turn your attention to Oikawa, his eyes would soften, making Jun notice that all too familiar look.

It seems that you were already special to a certain someone.

~~

A couple days later after the exhibit, Jun continued to figure out solutions for his current troubles, lying idly on his bed before sitting up. He sighs heavily as he roughly combs through his hair and stands up from the bed.

The silence is broken when he hears muffled talking in the next room over. Curiously, Jun makes his way out the door to find the source of the noise, his footsteps quiet as to not be detected.

When he finds the source, he pops his head in the room catching the backs of the parents hovered over a computer. As he strains to eavesdrop, his eyes widen slightly at what he hears.  

They were researching the art school he mentioned a couple days ago. Jun pulls back from the door before giving them one last glance as he walks off with a light hum escaping his lips. His hums stop abruptly when he realizes something.

He knew Oikawa was a big support to you but Jun wondered how far that support went… He bit the inside of his cheek in thought.

Well, there was still time before graduation to tell what path you would decide to choose.


	20. Rainy Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note: I have updated the previous chapter (Jun) and gave it major edits. 
> 
> Moving on, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter for this week! Learning from my past mistake, I took Saturday to properly revise and edit the chapter to give you guys the most polished version. Thank you for your patience, comments and kudos!
> 
> Also, LOOK AT THIS GUYS it’s fanart from a wonderful artist referencing the chapter Progression: http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Progression-Part-1-620391817
> 
> Update: Splash of Color once a week on Saturday or Sunday MDT.   
> Chapter 21 on July 16 or 17, 2016

 

You would call today a sort of lazy day for yourself. It was raining hard outside, the water droplets knocking on your window as you snuggled up into your sheets with a hot mug of hot chocolate and one of your favorite movies playing on your laptop.

Today the movie served as extra background noise as your focus was not on the laptop but rather the phone you held with your other hand. It seems that Oikawa had also stayed home today, taking care of his nephew Takeru. You weren’t sure how he was able to respond back so quickly to your texts if he was preoccupied with babysitting duty.

Ever since you asked for that photo a couple months back and he got your number, he had been taking full advantage of it. Luckily Oikawa was actually pretty useful in terms of taking really nice shots during his early morning runs or when he stops you to take a picture of the sunset before you guys head off to the train. However, there were still times when he would just spam you mercilessly, from just randomly stating what he had planned for the day to complaining about the genius setter ‘Tobio-chan’ and super ace ‘Ushiwaka-chan’. He never actually corrected you when you misnamed that captain from Shiratorizawa as Ujikama, Oikawa saying that it was a better fitting name for such a guy. You didn’t press it any further since you noticed Oikawa was quite pleased you misnamed him for some reason.

Recently, Oikawa had started a new habit of texting you early morning before he headed out for practice (to your dismay) and then sometime at night when he was headed off to bed. It would be something like:

 **Oikawa: Wake up Rudolph~**  ♥ **The sky seems pretty clear so I’ll be able to get a nice photo for you sometime today! Aren’t you lucky~** ✌

And…

 **Oikawa: Night-night~** ☆ **Sweet dreams, possibly of me** ♥

You weren’t used to getting such texts every morning and late night but you had gradually grown fond of it, responding to his ridiculously early morning texts and late night texts without fail. Somewhere along the line, just like how Oikawa would naturally just sling his arm on your shoulder, you found yourself anticipating those little actions from him.

There were times when his texts would lack the usual energy it would hold (plus the lack of emojis and symbols was a definite red flag) where you would take the reins and send him ridiculous photos or cute animals just to get his mind off of whatever had upset him that day. If that didn’t do the trick, you would give him a call and just chat about lighthearted topics—it usually perked him up right away.

But there were also those rare moments, usually around late at night when both of you guys had trouble sleeping, and would just share little tidbits of yourselves that the other didn’t know about. Asking each other random questions like ‘what’s your favorite food?’ or ‘cat or dog person?’.

You found yourself treasuring each every one of those moments, glad to have found such a precious friend. That said precious friend also being able to motivate you in ways you couldn’t and also able to support you when you had no strength to. You couldn’t deny that Oikawa could get incredibly childish at times (even more so with Tadashi around for some reason) but you also couldn’t deny times when he’d show moments of maturity, remembering that time he had comforted you so gently when you were distressed about Jun’s yearly visit.

Feeling your phone buzz, you turn your attention to it after spacing out and upon seeing the text you let out an amused chuckle. You weren’t even fazed about his selfies at this point and you found that he had his go-to selfie poses. Today it was a photo with his nephew, you chuckling at the contrasting amounts of energy where Oikawa was beaming, him and his nephew almost cheek to cheek as they grinned at the camera with their peace signs.

Placing your hot coco on your side table, you promptly replied to his text.

**You: Hmm, I wonder who’s really taking care of who?**

You grinned just knowing that Oikawa was pouting at your message.

 **Oikawa: So mean** ☹ **Obviously me!**

The playful banter continues on through the texts, your eyes glued onto your phone screen rather than the laptop that was playing movies. There was a never a dull moment when you texted with Oikawa—somehow both of you guys always had something to talk about.

He would mix up his texts with photos to give you some inspiration for future works (and those selfies you told him to stop sending) plus videos he found interesting (mostly relating to volleyball). Most of the time he would ask you if you thought a certain move the player made in the video was cool and when you’d say yes you’d find him practicing it when you came to his practices. He would say that he’d make it even cooler or something along those lines.

It was also nice to know that he seemed to respond to your texts right away as well.

You never doubted that Oikawa wasn’t a hard worker and just seeing the efforts he put into your friendship made your heart burst into warmth. There was a lot of things he made you feel, too much to file through each and every one, but most of all he made sure that you felt loved and cared for. He was that little sunshine after a rainy day.

Your attention was pulled away when you heard a light knock on your door. You let out a soft hum, just loud enough to let whoever was outside the door know that it was okay to come inside.

When the door opens, you surprisingly see your dad who was stiff by the door. You give him a questioning look as you see him fiddling with what seems to be a wrinkled pamphlet in his hands. After an awkward second passes, your dad walks up to you and passes you the wrinkled pamphlet. You’re uneasy about it until you actually get a good look at what it said. An art university?

Your head snaps up from the pamphlet in disbelief as your jaw slacks from the unexpected event. Eyes unblinking, you waited for your dad to elaborate.

“It’s by Jun’s workplace and he has already informed us that you can stay there if you decide to apply.” His voice is gruff and he’s not looking you in the eye, feeling rather vulnerable about not being in his element. “It looks like a good school but you can do further research to see if this is the kind of uh…styles…you want to study.” You had to hold in a chuckle at how he tried to throw in some terms that he probably read from Jun’s book.

Your eyes softened at your dad, it wasn’t unknown in the family that he had the most trouble expressing himself with words and for him to continue to try was more than enough. Gripping tightly to the pamphlet, you give him a bright smile. “Thanks dad.”

He nods stiffly and makes a move to leave your room. “Good luck.” He quickly shuffles out of the room, forgetting to close your door.

You just sit on your bed for a moment longer at what your dad just told you. Being it that he was a man of few words, those words meant the world to you. He thought you could do it. That thought alone made your day brighten even further, even if it was so gloomy and rainy outside.

Your mom pops into your room with a grin when she sees what you’re holding in your hands. “I see he finally got to give it to you!” She walks over to you and sits on the side of your bed, smiling gently at you. “We took some time to research the school and I think it did have some of the…elements…you had in your paintings?” She smiles sheepishly at you, when she notices you have yet to say anything.

Glancing at the pamphlet in your hands, you quickly skim through it and nod. “Actually, it is similar to what I’m doing right now.” You lift your head to face your mom again with a smile. “Sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed right now…” you trail off. “…I mean the good kind!” You quickly add.

Your mom lets out a little laugh before softly patting your cheek. “Keep it up.” As she stands from your bed, she turns to you with her hands on her hips. “Anyway, I have to start dinner. But can you pick up some ingredients? We might run out.”

You nod and shuffle out of your sheets. “Yeah, that’s fine by me.” Grinning you add, “would this be considered a thank you from me?”

“No reason to thank us for anything!” She chuckles as she leaves your room. “But I do hope you thanked that Oikawa boy~”

Before you could tell her to elaborate as to why she said that, she’s out of your room, only leaving behind a list of things to buy that was subtly on your bed. You let out a sigh. This family always seemed to have something up their sleeve.

It also reminded you to text Jun as soon as possible, finally figuring out what he meant by you finding out soon. He had left a couple days ago after your art exhibition and it made you realize why the parents were always so thrilled when he visited. Jun was pretty great, you agreed.

After giving yourself that reminder, you grab the list off your bed and walk to your closet to quickly get dressed before grabbing your umbrella off the hook.

As you were headed out the door, you glanced out the window to see that it had stopped raining even though the sky remained gloomy. You hang the umbrella back, not wanting to hold extra things if you would bring back groceries.

~~

“Haah~” You sigh out, your voice drowned out by the rain hitting harshly against the pavement. Your arms ached as you switched the bag of groceries back and forth from each arm, not willing to place them on the ground and potentially get some of the items wet.

To your dismay, you realized you forgot your phone at home while you were in a rush to get the groceries before it got too dark. To add onto that, it had unfortunately gotten pretty dark, your only source of light being a dull light from the convenience store close by your place.

You stiffened when you saw a shadow overlap with yours as you stared hard at the ground, only hearing the sound of the rain hitting against an umbrella. You held your breath when the shadow continued to stay overlapped with yours, your eyes drilling itself on the ground to not make eye contact.

“…What are you staring at Rudolph?”

The nickname snaps your head up to face Oikawa’s questionable gaze before turning your attention to another person standing beside him with his own umbrella. You quickly identified him as Oikawa’s cousin Takeru given that Oikawa had been sending you photos of both him and Takeru earlier today.

“Spotty, you scared me.” You held up your hand to your heart to steady your racing heartbeat. You give him a tired stare, the pain in your arms turning into a dull one. “By the way, what were you guys doing here anyway?”

“Uncle Tōru took me to a park close by here!” Takeru piped up.

Oikawa cuts in. “I figured that he would like a park like that!” He takes in your situation after he finishes speaking and without another word, Oikawa takes the bags from your hands and slips his arm around your shoulders. You’re cramped under the umbrella with him considering that his umbrella was only meant for one.

His arm pulled you tightly against his side as he urged you to start walking. Literally pressed against him, you tried your best to walk at a steady pace. You almost trip when you hear a little voice cut through the rain shower.

“…Are you guys dating?” Takeru walks up to your side and gives you a look over.

The hand on your shoulder drops as Oikawa quickly moves between you two, one of his hands still holding the umbrella over your head with the groceries and the other pressing rather hard on his nephew’s head. “Ah~ You’re too young to know such things!”

You pop your head around Oikawa to respond to Takeru. “If anything, this guy is too young to know such things.” You point at Oikawa discreetly, making Takeru giggle at your antics.

Oikawa just grumbles after that before resuming his position with his arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you tightly against his side again. When you finally get a good look at Oikawa, you notice that one side of his arm is soaked. He takes notice of where your attention was at before giving you a grin. His hand squeezes your shoulder lightly when he notices the look you’re giving him.

“Don’t say anything, you’re going to ruin the moment.”

“I think you did that just fine without my help.”

He lets out a resigned sigh. “You can’t even last a minute without being snarky with me.”

“Just like you can’t last a minute being flirty with me?” You retort, raising your brow at him.

His cheeks puff up a little as he mumbles out, “…I’m not like that with everyone.”

“Sure, sure.” You reply dismissively, finding it hard to believe.

Oikawa lets out a disgruntled sigh when he catches the tone of your response, pouting slightly.

The rest of the walk to your house is idle talk, just getting to know Takeru and seeing a different side of Oikawa with his nephew around. Little by little, both your paths continued to intertwine and twist together as the both of you guys got more involved in each other’s lives in and out of school.

Soon after, you finally reach home, Oikawa handing back your groceries and giving you a light pat on the head. “You’re lucky you have me around aren’t you?”

You couldn’t help roll your eyes at his surge of confidence but nonetheless agree with him, taking delight in seeing his smug smile turn into what would be similar to an expression a dog would make when it’s been praised by its owner. He starts to raise his arms for a hug before you left to which you just gave a light poke on his chest to counteract it, rolling your eyes at him.

“Good night Tōru-kun.” You hold in a snicker at his apparent pout on his face before you turn to his nephew. “Good night to you too, Takeru-kun.”

The two boys said their goodbyes to you and then you finally got to your front door to open it. As you do so, you jump when you see your mom at the door with an umbrella in her hand. She also jumps, surprised that you were there and not as soaked as she thought you’d be.

Before she could ask the obvious question, you just explained that you had run into Oikawa when you were taking shelter under the convenience store. The corners of her lips twitch up into a smile, like she knew something that you didn’t.

“Hm, he’s such a good friend, isn’t he?”

You let out a hum as you nod, passing her the groceries and taking off your shoes as you do so. “He lets me know for the both of us, to be honest.”

Your mom chuckles at your response. “Well he certainly let your father and I know that you were such a good friend to him that day he came over for dinner.” Her eyes twinkled and you could tell she was withholding information from you. It was beginning to be a pattern that you weren’t particularly fond of.

She only grins at your exasperated expression and lightly nudges your back. “Go and get cleaned up, I’ll get dinner finished soon!”

You begrudgingly do as told and make your way to your room, thinking over the little bits of information you received. You couldn’t help but smile. It was funny to know that the first thing he would say in front of your parents is how good of a friend you were.

You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about teasing him too much today. You’d make sure to make it up to him as soon as possible.

~~

Meanwhile, the moment you stepped inside your home, Takeru turns to Oikawa with a mischievous glint in his eye. “So _that’s_ why you wanted to take me to this particular park…”

Oikawa just huffs at his nephew and pushes his back to walk back to the train station. He flushes slightly when his nephew continues to press him with questions.

“You know, this is the first time I saw one of your girlfriends!”

“…[Name]-chan isn’t my girlfriend or anything…” Oikawa grumbles, begrudgingly accepting the unfortunately true fact.

Takeru hums in response before voicing out, “maybe you should ask her out or something.” He grins up at Oikawa. “That’s usually what you do when you like someone, right?”

Oikawa was so used to having girls confess to him and then date them after that the idea of asking you out before he even knew if you were interested made him anxious. You weren’t just someone he was romantically interested in either. You managed to become such a precious friend to him as well. He wouldn’t know how to take it if you distanced yourself from him if he impulsively told you—not that you’d take him seriously anyway.

But he was a hard worker. He always worked hard to reach his goals.

Nodding to himself, he reminds himself that he’d work hard to make sure you understood each and every bit of his feelings.

Oikawa lets out a soft chuckle, ruffling Takeru’s hair. “Maybe I should.”

~~

Right before you headed to bed, prepared to snuggle in your sheets, you hear your phone vibrate on your side table.

Reaching out for your phone, you sit at the side of your bed and look down to see what the message was about. To your surprise, it wasn’t the usual good night text.

**Oikawa: Do you have plans tomorrow?**

You stare at the text for a while until you reasoned that this would be a good way to make it up to him.

**You: Nope. Where did you want to go?**

Placing the phone back on the side table while you waited for his response, you snuggle into your covers before reaching out to grab your phone.

 **Oikawa:** **Surprise~ Lets meet up at the park by the café?**

You roll your eyes at his text.

**You: Surprises sound very suspicious, especially coming from you…**

You could almost hear him scoff as you imagined he was furiously typing down a response.

**Oikawa: I swear you won’t regret it!**

Sighing to yourself, you agree with his somewhat suspicious way of asking you to hang out. Glancing at the clock, you tell Oikawa that you two should probably sleep if you guys would have energy tomorrow. He agrees and ends his text off with his usual.

 **Oikawa: Good night [Name]-chan~ Sleep well** ♥ **Can’t wait for tomorrow!**

You snuggle in your sheets and close your eyes as you settled in bed, also finding yourself looking forward to tomorrow.


	21. Hoodies

“This one?” You hold up a shirt and scrutinize it for a good measure before putting it down and holding up another piece of clothing. “…Or this one?"

Of course, this wasn’t because you thought this was a date or anything, you were trying to figure out clothes to make sure it didn’t seem like one. The way Oikawa asked to hang out with you was a little strange last night, but now that you were more awake in the morning, you couldn’t help but wonder.

You treasured your friendship with Oikawa too much to go any further than that. Friendships could last forever and if you did pursue a romantic relationship with him, what would happen if it didn’t work out? He’d be out of your life and you didn’t accept that thought one bit.

Now, going back to your more current problem: your outfit for today.

Your room was more than a little messy at this point, most of your clothes strewn all over the floor and on top of your bed. Your mom had popped in and just gave you a teasing smile before leaving without a word. You decided to ignore it for the moment, hoping that she would tell you what she knew one day.

You spent a couple more minutes of mindless searching in your closet until you found something you could wear—a hoodie. It was still new and you wonder why you never wore it before but you guessed that since it was in the back of your closet, you just forgot about it. Nodding to yourself, you pull out the hoodie and hold it up at arm’s length. The material was thin and airy, perfect for the sunny weather for today, but also casual enough.

Finally getting dressed, you look to your watch before starting to head out. That is, until you get a text from Oikawa before you get out the door.

Taking a look at your phone, all you see is an address and directions to get there. The next text however, explained the sudden change in location.

**Oikawa: Change of plans! Can you meet me at my place first?  I would come to yours but I can’t leave my house at the moment…**

You send a quick reply and say you’ll be there in a couple minutes, to which he thanks you gratefully and apologizes for the sudden change.

~~

You blink when you’re met with a cheeky grin belonging to a certain person’s nephew after you ring the doorbell of Oikawa’s home.

“Ah, Rudolph is here!” He turns his head to call out to Oikawa who was currently missing at the moment.

Your eye twitches slightly when you hear the nickname. You know you said you didn’t mind it but did Oikawa never bother to tell his nephew your actual name?

The moment Takeru calls out for Oikawa, both of you hear loud footsteps quickly making its way to the front door.

“Takeru! I told you that I would answer the door!” He scolded Takeru before turning his attention to you with a sheepish smile. “Sorry to spring this onto you, I still wanted to hang out with you but this guy…” His palm smacks down on Takeru’s head lightly. “…Wanted to come when he heard about it.”

“But it’s not a date, right?” Takeru’s voice was clear as it cut through the air.

Oikawa freezes for a moment before he laughs a little awkwardly. “O-of course it wasn’t.” He rubs the nape of his neck, his eyes not meeting yours.

“Yeah, we were just going to hang out,” you agree, smiling at Takeru as you give him a thumbs up. “Plus, the more the merrier right?”

Takeru visibly beams at your response before you put your hands on your hips, biting the inside of your cheek in thought. What could all three of you guys do?

Maybe you were hanging out with Oikawa too much because the first thing that popped into your head was volleyball.

You turn to face the two boys. “Would it be okay if we played volleyball in the park then? There would be lots of space to play there.” You knew you made the right decision when you saw both their faces light up at your suggestion.

Takeru quickly grabs onto your sleeve and pulls on it. “Yeah, lets go!” He bounces in his spot, reminding you of how similar Oikawa was when volleyball was mentioned. Your eyes soften at Takeru’s excitement, the boy clearly expressing that he wanted to leave as soon as possible so he could play volleyball for as long as he could.

Oikawa glances at you to see if you were uncomfortable with Takeru clinging to you but is relieved to see you genuinely enjoying his presence, laughing with his nephew as he continued to chatter on. Oikawa chuckles before ruffling Takeru’s hair. “Just give me a second and let me grab the volleyball.”

~~

The walk to the park was filled with chatter, mostly from Takeru as he asked you all the questions that popped in his head during the trip to the park. You deduced that he was just curious and had a blurred line that separated the terms friend that’s a girl and girlfriend. Amused, you answered the questions as best you could, not noticing how Oikawa deflated at each response you gave.

Oikawa had mixed feelings at the moment. On one hand, he was glad that you were getting along with his nephew but on the other hand, he was beginning to lose confidence whenever you stressed that the relationship you two held was just that of friendship.

He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he knew what he was getting into and he honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. He’d just have to figure out another way for you to consider him since words or even his blatant actions weren’t enough.

Your chatter with Takeru dies down as you make a quick glance at Oikawa who was quieter than usual. He seemed to be thinking through something, becoming visibly distressed with his thoughts.

With Takeru in between you two, you couldn’t give Oikawa the light nudge on his shoulder that usually got him out of his distress to calm him down. You knew that physical contact was an important thing for Oikawa because it made sure that people were there for him—be it the gentle way that you go for or the tough love that Iwaizumi gave him.

Letting out a thoughtful hum, you bump your side to Takeru’s and in turn Takeru bumped into Oikawa. Takeru let out a giggle and Oikawa turned to you with a confused expression. You just shoot him a teasing grin. “Welcome back Spotty.”

You’re relieved when you see Oikawa’s furrowed brows relax into its original state as he returns your teasing grin with his broad smile. “Hmm, I wasn’t aware I left in the first place~”

Takeru glances at your back and forth banter with Oikawa before asking, “hey, how did you guys come up with the nicknames?”

Oikawa chuckles as he pats Takeru’s shoulder, giving you a smug smile as he does so. “Let me tell you a little story…”

~~

The three of you had played volleyball in the park upon arriving, Takeru finding a spot to claim right away. You guys had just played pass with one another, Oikawa occasionally giving out pointers whenever you or Takeru had trouble receiving each other’s tosses.

Just like the time Oikawa had first taught you volleyball during his practice, he went above and beyond, making another game where both you and Takeru would pass to Oikawa respectively and he would pass to each of you guys, making sure everyone had fun. You noticed how Oikawa would toss differently depending on the person, making you respect how much thought he put into each of you guys.

You guys played volleyball until late afternoon and you were starting to become tired. After another round, you call it a quits and offered to buy drinks for everyone to which they gratefully accepted as they continued to play.

Stepping out of the tossing circle, you walk off in search of a vending machine to buy drinks from.

It doesn’t take long for you to spot a vending machine and you steadily make your way towards it, eyes widening in surprise when you see a familiar figure beside it. As you reach the vending machine, the figure turns around and waves once they notice you.

“Oh, [Surname]-chan, nice to see you here.”

You give a little wave. “Hey Iwaizumi-kun. What brings you here?”

He points his thumb behind him, diverting your focus to the rest of the volleyball team that was also there, still within distance but too far for any of them to notice you. “Just hanging out with the team. What about you?”

One of your brows unconsciously rise at the confusion. “I’m with Tōru-kun and Takeru-kun over…there.” You point at the opposite direction. “…Should I call him over?” You say slowly as you take in Iwaizumi’s mixed expression.

He stares at you for a moment, huffing under his breath about how Oikawa said he couldn’t go out today before shaking his head. “Ah, no…it’s okay. He’s been overworking himself lately anyway so this will be good for him.” He stuffs his hand in his pocket before entering some more change in the vending machine and picking some more drinks.

As the drinks are entered in, they fall to the bottom to be collected, Iwaizumi reaching down to pick them up before handing it to you. “He likes this drink, and Takeru likes this one.” Iwaizumi gives you a smile before patting your shoulder. “There should be enough change for one more drink, go ahead and get something.”

You try to protest but Iwaizumi shakes his head. “No, if anything…thank you.”

“Hm? What for?” You quirk your brow in confusion at Iwaizumi’s sudden gesture.

He only chuckles as a response. “I have to go, say hi for them for me.” Giving you one last friendly pat on the shoulder, he turns around and walks off to the rest of his team.

You sigh as you look a second longer at his retreating back before punching in a drink for yourself.

Once you got your drink, you walk back to the two boys who were under the shade, sitting at the base of a tree trunk and passed them their respective drinks. They happily take it, pleasantly surprised that you had given them their favorites. “I ran into Iwaizumi-kun on my way to get them,” you explained as they sipped on their drinks. “He says hi.”

Oikawa chokes on his drink right when you mentioned Iwaizumi before looking at you warily. “…Did he happen to mention—”

“—yeah, he did.” You cut him off as you shoot him a teasing smile. “Busy, huh?”

He puffs his cheeks. “Well, I asked you to hang out first before they asked me!”

You let out a hum and nod at his explanation. “Sure...” You stress out the word, wondering if that was the case since he asked to hang out last minute before you went to bed.

The chatter dies down a little until Takeru springs up from his seat, successfully making you jump at his sudden movement. “I wanted to go play in the playground now!” He points at the playground a little ways away from where you guys were sitting. “You guys can stay here and…uh...watch my drink!” He passes you his drink before he runs off to the park. You weren’t able to give Takeru’s speedy exit much thought as Oikawa scooted to sit beside you, letting out a deep breath.

“Ah~ The shade is so nice!” He turns to you with a grin. “I can’t let you hog this all to yourself~”

You roll your eyes as you scooted over so he could be fully out of the sun. His grin widens as he takes the opportunity to sit closer to you.

“Get away, you’re so sweaty.” You try to nudge him off you. “And it’s also so hot out already, give me some room.”

He takes in your words differently as he shoots you a mischievous smile. “Too hot you say?” His lips stretch out into a wide grin as winks at you. “You finally realize my charms~”

You blink at him for a moment and laugh. As ridiculous he was when he flirted so easily with you, you found comfort in how he kept things lighthearted and made sure you were having fun. “But of course~” You poke his chest for good measure, feeling him stiffen.

Oikawa just sits there stiffly for a moment before letting out another awkward laugh, not used to you agreeing with him when he flirted with you. Even if you were just joking around, the words made his chest feel strangely pleasant.

He leans back on the trunk of the tree and closes his eyes to relax. “I wish we could hang out like this after high school too.”

You let out a hum and nod to yourself. “Yeah, I’ll come visit as much as I can.”

That sentence breaks Oikawa out of his relaxed state as he shoots up from his seat and snaps his head towards you. “…Visit?”

You jump at Oikawa’s sudden movement before nodding to him. “I was going to apply for the art university close by where Jun lives.” You raise your brow at Oikawa’s blank expression before continuing. “Considering the requirements, I think I can get into the university no problem!” You’re beaming at this point but it falters slightly when you have yet to hear from Oikawa.

At the moment, Oikawa felt his whole world fall when he heard the news. Oikawa’s stomach dropped. He knew this routine wouldn’t last forever but for it to come to a close so soon made his heart ache. He already had trouble not being able to see you on the weekends most of the time and for that to be halved even more to holiday visits felt like torture.

The pain became a dull ache when his eyes met your excited ones, thrilled about this new experience ahead of you. Of course he was happy for you but…

…He had hoped that you would be able to share those experiences with him.

Your heart just about jumped out of its chest when Oikawa suddenly flipped your hood over your head before pulling you in for a tight hug. For a second, you felt something press itself on your head but as soon as you felt it, it was gone.

He pulls away from you after a couple seconds before giving you the brightest broad smile you’ve ever seen from him. “I can live with that for now.” He mutters to himself before his eyes lock with yours. “But that’s great! I’m so proud of you.”

Oikawa ruffles your hair slightly before taking a glance at his watch. “Ah, it’s getting late~ I’ll go get Takeru so we can walk you home.” He stands up from his spot and walks off without another word, leaving you by the trunk of the tree feeling very much confused at the events that happened just now.

~~

On Oikawa’s side, his face felt flushed as he quickly walked away from you, slightly congratulating and slightly scolding himself at what he just did.

Of course, you wouldn’t really know what he just did but he sure did.

He was just so upset that he was upset instead of happy for you. Oikawa knew how much it meant to you and no matter how much he wanted to tell you otherwise, he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘don’t go’.

So instead, Oikawa had flipped your hood and placed a soft but quick kiss on your head, just so he wouldn’t say anything he would regret.

As time passed, Oikawa realized how progressively more difficult it was to keep his emotions in check around you, especially since you acted normally around him.

Oikawa chanted in his head so he wouldn’t forget.

He would support you but…he for sure wouldn’t let you leave without knowing how he felt about you.

…And of course, he wouldn’t mind if you felt the same way when he worked up the courage to follow through with his thoughts.

He knew he’d have to do it soon though, preferably before graduation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh the writing block is real so it took a while to get myself to write it to satisfaction but I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all of the support, I love hearing from you all <3  
> Some more fanart of reader all dressed up for the art exhibition oooh~  
> http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Reader-chan-A-work-of-art-hm-622130774


	22. Not as Planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another side chapter!! Look at me as I try to get over my writers block hahahah...
> 
> But I really, REALLY wanted to post this to celebrate Oikawa's birthday! Hurray July 20th! Hurray you guys get an extra chapter this week!
> 
> Another note, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me on the chapters! They're so encouraging to read and it gives me ideas on future chapters (: Much love fellow readers <3

Everyone seemed to know about a special day that was coming up pretty soon, most of the girls in your school excitedly talking amongst each other about it. It was some sort of sign, like the whole world was telling you that you had to come up with something and to come up with it fast.

The date was drilled into your head from the indirect nagging you heard from your fellow schoolmates: July 20th aka. Oikawa Tōru's birthday.

You thought for a while that maybe you were exaggerating on hearing it everywhere when Oikawa interacted as usual around you but when you heard Iwaizumi openly complaining about it, you realized that Oikawa was probably just used to the big fuss the week before his birthday.

The week full of preparation was among everyone. You scrambled to figure out something to get Oikawa and one thought popped into your head—a surprise party? As cliché as it may be, you wanted to gather all of Oikawa's friends just to let him know that he was a special guy.

...As special as you considered him.

Nodding to yourself, you start going around the school to round up people for Oikawa's party.

~~

Oikawa didn't mind the attention from everyone, not at all. What he did mind was that you suddenly stopped giving him attention as a result. Whenever he walked home with you, you would be in your own little world, only giving him short answers before going back into your thoughts. It nagged him and made him wonder what could have possibly made you think so hard about something?

The nagging just got worse when he'd be talking to his fan club and he'd see you running around, talking to his teammates, classmates, and everything in between. He'd be lying if he said he didn't mind that you were socializing pretty well, seeing you laugh with them. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he noticed you trade numbers after you talked with them.

Oikawa had an inkling feeling that you were planning something for his birthday, considering that the people you came in contact with were people he talked with often. He knew but...it didn't mean he was too thrilled about the part where you started to distance yourself from him as a result.

He didn't want to admit it but he kept a close eye on you when you talked to his teammates. They all knew about you and how great you were so he was worried that the others would get ideas from talking with you.

Sighing to himself, Oikawa ruffled his hair to compose himself as he tried to focus on volleyball practice. Today was finally his birthday and although he had received birthday wishes and gifts from his fan club, his teammates, Ami and even Tadashi, he had yet to receive any words from you—what's more was that he hasn't even seen you at all today. But today it was your turn to visit him after practice so he hoped to see you then.

As practice ended for the day, everyone once again said their birthday greetings to Oikawa as they left the gym, leaving him alone. Oikawa glanced at the clock more often than he would admit as he waited for you until the doors of the gym opened up a couple minutes later. He brightened up quickly when he was met with your sunny smile.

"Tōru-kun! Happy birthday~" You walked up to him, speeding up your steps when you noticed Oikawa tearing up a little. "—Ah, are you alright?!"

You only see Oikawa tilt his head up, close his eyes and take a deep breath before opening his eyes again and facing you. "...I thought you forgot..." His voice was softer than usual, holding an embarrassed tone.

You step a little closer to him, nudging your shoulder to his. "I would never~" You teased, noticing that Oikawa lightened up after you said so. You take the volleyball from his hands. "Sorry to make you feel upset on such a special day. Let me make it up to you!"

Oikawa gives you a questioning look as you put away the volleyball and then tug on his wrist, urging him to follow you out of the gym.

"Lets go~"

"Go where...?" His voice trails off, his mind wandering as you continue to pull him away from the gym. He didn't want to get his hopes up but he still hoped that you had planned something for him.

You only give a light hum in response, your steps not being able to hide how excited you were. His eyes softened at your bouncing figure. He had only seen this side when you were talking about art and _if_ you were like this for him then it might just be the best birthday present he could ever have.

~~

Meanwhile, in the art club room, everyone you had gathered was waiting in the room with streamers, confetti and birthday cakes.

As they were all waiting for you to arrive with the guest of honor, Iwaizumi was telling a story to everyone.

"...And then, she called him Tōru-kun." Iwaizumi finished his story, hearing Ami squeal in excitement.

She jumped in her spot as Hanamaki patted her head to try to calm her down. "Called it!"

Iwaizumi nods in response. "[Surname]-chan is a very good influence for him, I hope it works out."

Ami grins as she urges the team to huddle in. "I have an idea..."

~~

You stop at the art club room and you finally let go of Oikawa's wrist, swiftly turning to face him. "We're here!" You smile up at him and urge Oikawa to open to door.

He returns your smile softly, ruffling your hair before his hand reached to open the door. He wasn't too sure where you guys were walking but now that he knew the destination, it was safe to say that you did plan something for him and he was already feeling on top of the word.

Opening the door, Oikawa was met with streamers and confetti as he heard a chorus of 'happy birthday!'. He instinctively turns his attention back to you and saw the expectant face you couldn't hide. You were clearly trying to see if he was happy about the (not so) surprise party but since he was happy when he met up with you from the start, he could tell it wouldn't be easy for you to see it.

Oikawa shoots you a bright smile as he gives you a side hug, turning to everyone else in the room. "Wow~ Thank you so much~!" He lightly squeezes your shoulder and tilts his head to yours when everyone starts preparing the cake. "Especially you [Name]-chan~"

Ami pops up in front of you two soon after. "Oh~ First name basis!" She shoots both of you a teasing look as she walks behind you two and pushes on your backs to walk further into the room. "Don't just stand there! We have to cut the cake!"

Oikawa laughs but stops in mid laugh when he sees Tadashi who waves at him with his usual friendly expression.

Tadashi gives him an amused look. "I came to help out [Surname]-chan with the preparations." He explained. "Oh, but happy birthday." Tadashi added a few seconds later.

Oikawa grumbles a bit but his attention is turned to the cake he's faced with soon after. It had a lot of...character he could say and he knew that this cake was not store bought. When he looked at you for an explanation and you weren't meeting his eyes, everything clicked. You had made it for him.

"...I guess baking itself is a different art," you grumbled as Oikawa continued to stare at you wordlessly. You began to shift uncomfortably under his gaze as he kept staring at you. "I also bought a cake! But I thought that since you're so sentimental, you'd appreciate the thought!" You quickly added to save yourself from further embarrassment. You knew it wasn't the greatest cake ever made but you thought it didn't taste too bad.

Oikawa shakes his head as he pokes your forehead lightly. "You guessed right, I really appreciate it." He points at the cake soon after. "I only want to eat this cake, everyone else can eat the store bought one~" He gives you a side smile to which you return gratefully.

"Now, now you two~" Ami called to both of you, walking over with a camera in her hands. "Lets take a picture to commemorate this event!" She set up a tripod in the center of the room as she urged everyone to find a spot in front of the camera. "Birthday boy in the center!"

"And [Name]-chan stays right here~" Oikawa hums as he slips his arm around your shoulder, pulling you tightly against him. You begin to protest but he only gives you a grin. "Hmm, well everyone needs to fit in the frame so we need to make room!"

You roll your eyes at his explanation but let him do what he wants for the time being. It was his birthday after all and you didn't mind _that_ much.

"Okay, I set the timer!" Ami calls out as she rushes over to your side.

The moment the light starts blinking more rapidly Ami whispers to you to look over at Oikawa for a second. You're confused but you comply to her wishes. As soon as you do so, everyone squeezes together, successfully pressing you and Oikawa closer together and to both of your guys' surprise, you end up lightly brushing your lips to Oikawa's cheek.

The flash goes off at that second and you and Oikawa quickly shift away from each other.

As you hear Ami giggling in the background you could tell who the mastermind of the plan was. However, that was the least of your concern for the moment.

Slowly turning to Oikawa, you notice that he has yet to face you, only seeing the tips of his ears a slight tinge of pink. "That was..." You trail off, rubbing the nape of your neck awkwardly.

He holds up his hand, halting you from finishing your sentence as he turns back to you, no traces of him being flustered. "No, no, that's totally okay~" He pats your shoulder as he walks over to the table to get some cake. "Lets eat!"

You stare at his retreating back for a moment before you shrug and follow after him, relieved that he wasn't upset by it.

~~

The moment was over too soon as Oikawa could barely grasp the situation. It had all happened too quickly but the moment he wanted to imprint in his memory was how your lips had brushed against his cheek for that half a second and what's more was that it was all caught on camera!

Oikawa made a note to thank Ami for this.

His face was more flushed than usual, his head turned away from you to which he unfortunately faced towards the teasing looks of his teammates who thankfully said nothing. As he was trying to compose himself, he could hear you starting to explain yourself but stopped you. He knew it was an accident but he could dream right? Finally gathering his bearings, he turned to you with a bright smile and patted your shoulder before he walked over to grab some cake that you had graciously made for him.

You were definitely going to be the death of him.

...But at least he had cake before it happened.


	23. Flower Petal

After the fiasco for Oikawa's birthday died down a couple days later, you're surprised when Ami tackles you first thing in the morning as you met up to walk to school.

"[Name]! Happy birthday!" She clings onto you tightly, giving you a big hug.

You blink at her for a moment. With all the planning you did for Oikawa's birthday, you just settled back into your usual relaxed lifestyle, resulting in you forgetting your own birthday. It made a lot more sense now because that morning, after you had gotten ready for school, you had gone downstairs and your parents had left you a box on the breakfast table before they went to work.

Patting Ami's head, you mutter to yourself. "...Oh right, today's my birthday..."

Ami pulls away from you quickly, gripping onto your shoulders. "You forgot?!" She looks at you incredulously, her eyes wide.

You only nod in response as you hear her let out a resigned sigh as she mumbled to herself.

"...If you forgot your own birthday...then that means that guy doesn't know..." Ami's mumbles quiet down after a moment.

Linking her arms with yours, she shoots you a wide grin. "Well now you know so lets have a good time on your birthday~" Her smile looked slightly suspicious to you, but ever since Oikawa's birthday incident, everything she did seemed suspicious. Judging from the look in her eye, you figured she had something planned again. You prepared yourself as you walked to school with Ami, listening to her chatter most of the way there.

~~

When you guys got to school, Ami pulls away from you, clasping her hands together, saying she had to take care of something. She digs into her bag after she says so and places a small gift and an envelope in your hands before she winks at you, waving as she parts from you.

"Look inside the envelope first~!"

Turning your attention to the gift you received, you comply with what Ami had told you and open up the envelope. You look at the envelope with curiosity as you finally get it open, pulling out the contents before you almost drop them when you see what was inside.

There were three photos and a letter inside. The first thing you see was a blown up picture of you kissing Oikawa's cheek as both of you looked surprised beyond belief. Your cheeks flush in embarrassment as you grumble a little and take a look at the next photo, internally crossing your fingers about what else Ami had up her sleeve.

Luckily, the next photo was the group picture that wasn't zoomed in to you and Oikawa. However, everyone was looking at the camera with smug smiles on their faces with the exception of a certain two in the center.

You let out a huff before you take a look at the third picture, eyes widening in surprise. You were certain that neither you nor Oikawa knew about this picture being taken; you guys were by the cake you made for him. You guessed it was around the time when you first showed it to him seeing how flustered you looked in the photo as you tried to explain yourself.

What surprised you even more was the look Oikawa seemed to give you in the photo. It was a peculiar expression, his smile was soft and his eyes twinkling in amusement but also holding a certain fondness to it. Staring wordlessly at the third photo, you couldn't help but wonder when Oikawa started making that expression on his face—you had never seen it before, or rather, never fully noticed it.

Flipping the photo over, you see that Ami had written a little note at the back.

 

_Take a good look at his face my lovely friend, you might see something you haven't noticed~_

 

You stare at her note for a moment longer as you begin to piece everything together. Your mom had hinted about it, Ami was blatantly telling you since the beginning, Jun had mentioned something about it when you hung out—heck, even Oikawa gave you hints on multiple occasions.

Could Oikawa possibly...

You couldn't shake off the feeling as flashes of your time together went through your mind: the talks, the hugs, the gestures...

You honestly didn't know how to feel about it. Being friends for quite some time now, it would be a difficult transition—maybe more for you than anything else. You didn't like to think about it but Oikawa was more experienced in the dating aspect and if anything were to happen between you two, you may end up hurting his feelings from your inexperience.

You had a lot to think about but for now you pushed it aside as to not rile up the rest of your thoughts. It would take some time but you needed to file through each and every one of your feelings to make sure you would make the right decision.

Taking a deep breath, you take a look at the last thing you haven't seen yet in the envelope. Holding the letter in your hands, you read the contents with bated breath, seeing if there was anything else you had missed.

 

_[Name],_

_To my dearest friend, I wish you a happy birthday! I hope you liked the photos I gave you_ ♥ _You look so cute in them!_

_I'm sure you'll also enjoy the things I've gathered in the gift box (; You know, you're not very good at hiding the things you want to buy when we go to the art store together haha_

_Also, this year has brought so many wonderful things to you and I'm glad to finally see you strive for what you love! ...And maybe find love?? (I'm sorry, I'll stop. I've teased you enough on the photos...)_

_Love you to bits you wonderful person!_

_Ami_

 

Your eyes softened at her letter as you carefully folded it again and placed it inside the envelope with the photos. You made an internal thank you to Ami as she became the catalyst that answered your many questions.

Now you just had to take time for yourself and properly evaluate your own feelings for Oikawa.

~~

Oikawa pouted as he saw numerous people gathering around you and chatting with you. He was still a distance away and he couldn't hear what they were saying but the fact of the matter was that he wasn't able to talk to you in the morning. He grumbled to himself as he walked with Iwaizumi, sulking at the fact that he couldn't tackle you with a hug for this morning.

Iwaizumi glances at Oikawa with an amused expression until his lips tighten into a straight line when his ears catch onto a passing conversation. "Hey...is it her birthday today?"

Oikawa's head snapped over to you once more and his stomach dropped when he noticed something else. The people that gathered around you had given you little trinkets, candies, _presents_...

He took a sharp intake of air. Was it your birthday? He felt his stomach churn uncomfortably as he saw you smiling happily at everyone as you thanked them.

"I'll go inside first." Iwaizumi didn't have time to say anything else as Oikawa swiftly walks past you and the group of people around you. _How could he have known if you didn't tell him?_ He thought, mostly annoyed with himself.

Then, a sudden thought clicked. The talk he had with your brother Jun at the art exhibition. Was that the hint he got for your upcoming birthday?

Oikawa felt bad. He wanted to express to you just how special you were and for him to not even know such a special day made him feel even worse.

Oikawa trudged into the school with heavy steps, wondering what he could do for your birthday. There wasn't much time and both of you guys still walked home together so he was having trouble figuring out how to scramble up a gift for you.

He paused. It didn't feel right for him to just 'scramble' things up at last minute—especially after all the work you put into his birthday.

An idea went through his head and he begrudgingly accepted it. It would have to be a belated birthday but he wanted to make sure he gave you the best gift possible.

~~

Sometime after your art club members had left, you got a surprise visit from Iwaizumi who had knocked on the door politely, trying to get your attention.

"Oh Iwaizumi-kun." You promptly place your paintbrush down before you turn your full attention to him. "Anything I can help you with?"

He shifts in his spot, scratching the back of his head. "I only found out about your birthday today and apparently Oikawa..." He trails off seeing you nod at him.

You let out a thoughtful hum. "I was wondering what was going on with him today..."

Aside from your art club members, you had also gotten some greetings from Iwaizumi and Hanamaki who mentioned that Ami was excitedly telling them about it just that morning. You had even gotten some greetings from the other volleyball members even though you weren't familiar with all of them.

The only thing that boggled your mind was that when you saw Oikawa, he would avert his eyes and walk in a different direction. It made you upset that he acted that way but you also knew better. He was probably upset that you didn't mention this to him.

You start gathering your brushes, standing up and making your way to the sink. "I'll go over there soon."

Iwaizumi shoots you a grateful smile as he rubs the nape of his neck. "Sorry about making you do this even on your birthday..."

You give Iwaizumi a side smile before returning your attention to washing your brushes. "I don't think my birthday would be complete without that handful~"

He chuckles at your response and offers to help you clean up but you decline, telling him that you'd finish up right away. He nods and leaves soon after, once again wishing you a happy birthday and thanking you for putting up with Oikawa.

As soon as you finished cleaning and packing up, you made your way to the gym as fast as you could, not being able to shake off the distraught expression Oikawa seemed to have every time you guys saw each other that day.

Not a moment too soon, you finally arrive at the gym, opening the doors carefully to be met with Oikawa who was practicing harder than ever. Even with how carefully you opened the door, it let out a noise that echoed in the large gym, making Oikawa stop what he was doing and turn his attention to the source of the sound.

You see him visibly freeze as you lock eyes with him, stiffening up as you walked towards him. His shoulders were hunched slightly, his gaze averted and his head turned to the side. You felt your eyes soften at the figure you saw before you—he was feeling guilty.

Letting out a deep sigh, you eye how Oikawa flinched before you gently put your hand over his shoulder, like you were coaxing a timid animal. "...It's my birthday today," you finally say.

He nods stiffly, still not looking at you. "...I...I know."

You let out an amused chuckle, successfully making him turn his eyes to you. "Hmm, so where's my birthday greeting Spotty? I am waiting~" you say in a sing-song voice, your tone light and airy.

You're relieved to see him begin to relax as his usual smile starts to form on his face. He lightly touches the hand you've placed on your shoulder before he pulls you into a tight hug. "Happy birthday," he mumbles out softly. "...I'm sorry I didn't know."

You only hum in response as you pat his head, occasionally combing your fingers through his hair. "Sorry I didn't mention it," you speak after a moment passed. "To be honest, I also forgot it was my birthday."

Oikawa lets out a noise of disbelief as he reluctantly pulls away from you when you start shifting in the hug. "How do you even manage to do that?"

You scratch the back of your head in thought. "I guess I was just taking it easy after planning your birthday? It wasn't too long ago."

Oikawa groans, "now I feel even worse." He makes big gestures, his head tilting back as his hand pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a deep sigh.

You laugh as he continues his childish complaints and gestures, more than glad that he was acting like he usually did. After it dies down, you place your hands on your hips. "Hey, would you mind going with me somewhere?"

"Hm?" Oikawa tilts his head slightly in question. "Where to?"

"Secret." You give a rare wink as you place your index finger to your lips.

"Just let me pack up~" He grins and gives you a wink. "Care to help me?"

You roll your eyes but help him pick up the volleyballs, once again missing that peculiar expression Oikawa had thrown your way.

~~

The walk was longer than usual as you could tell Oikawa was getting more curious by the minute. He would continually ask questions on where you guys were going and how he never noticed the areas you walked through before. You only let out a hum in response as he continued chatting away, filling up the silence with his many questions.

You assumed that you didn't need to explain when you saw Oikawa's mouth gape at the scene you showed him.

It was a vast field filled with patches of flowers of different types. With the sun starting to set, the weather was just right, the wind feeling cool against your skin as it brushed past your cheeks.

You let Oikawa gape in awe for a moment longer before you took his hand and tugged on his arm. "Let me show you where I usually set up!"

"Set up..?" Oikawa looks at you questionably, also taking the opportunity to adjust his hand and lace his fingers with yours.

You nod before you stop walking, your free hand presenting the space. "This is where I come to get some inspiration, to relax..." you trail off. "I think of it as my little secret place. It's a favorite of mine."

You stop talking and raise your brow at him when you finally noticed your interlocked hands. He gives you his standard broad grin before he lets go of your hand, facing away from you and humming innocently to himself.

Both of you settle yourselves on the plush grass as you admire the scenery soon after. Sitting side by side, you close your eyes as you enjoyed the breeze and the company. You didn't even notice how Oikawa had placed his hand over yours when you weren't looking, beaming when you didn't say anything.

As you relished in the feeling of relaxing in your favorite place, your thoughts travelled to what you discovered about Oikawa. There was a lot to think about and you wanted to think about it carefully—he was worth that much and more. Although you haven't fully sorted out your emotions on the matter, you knew that Oikawa may have gone past being just a friend a long time ago. But it was still hard to put the rest of your feelings into words...It was new for you and difficult to identify.

You feel Oikawa squeeze your hand softly before he laughs. "I feel like...This is more of a present for me than it is for you."

Blinking up at him, you shake your head. "Not at all. If anything, thank you for accompanying me to my favorite place!"

He pouts. "I hardly did anything worth thanking for..."

You roll your eyes and nudge his side. "My favorite place with my favorite person~" You tried to hide a grin when you saw Oikawa noticeably perk up. "What more could I ask for?"

For a while you just sat side by side each other, enjoying each other's presence and the cool breeze brushing against your cheeks. Only when a stray petal settled itself on your lip and you made a move to remove it did you realize the hand you planned to use was occupied. You could tell Oikawa felt the movement from under his hand and shot you a mischievous smile.

"Your other hand is free, use that one." He points to your unoccupied hand.

You narrowed your eyes at his nonchalant expression that you at this moment wanted to take off his face.

A thoughtful expression went on your own face as you used your other hand to take the petal off your lips. The moment you saw Oikawa make a move to open his mouth to tease you did you press your finger to shush him before he could, also succeeding in pressing the flower petal onto his lips.

You felt a surge of accomplishment when Oikawa's eyes darted to your index finger pressed firmly on his lips with a dumbfounded expression as you finally let go and stood up, holding in a chuckle when you saw Oikawa hold both hands to his face. "Thanks for the birthday gift Spotty."

With a smug grin, you stand up and motion to the time, signifying that it was time to head home. You started to walk a little but when you noticed Oikawa still sitting there you called out, "any day now would be good~"

There was something that was building up inside you when you saw Oikawa shoot you his broad smile as he stands up. You took note to also look into what this feeling was. It was hard to place and difficult to put into words but the feeling itself wasn't unpleasant.

You wondered to yourself if you were also giving a look similar to the one Oikawa had in the third photo. Closing your eyes for a moment, you let that thought settle in your mind, waiting for Oikawa to catch up with you.

Oikawa runs over to you soon after, making a grand gesture of an exaggerated bow. "At your service Rudolph~" He straightens himself up once he hears you laugh at his gesture, his arm wrapping around your shoulder while his other hand is settled in his pants pocket, fingers brushing against his now most treasured flower petal.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasp, more developments! It's finally happening guys, after so many chapters ahh
> 
> (also did a boatload of writing for future chapters, thanks for all the encouragement during my writing block!)
> 
> Some cute scenes drawn by an awesome artist:
> 
> [:') (including scenes from (T)ease, Rainy Days and Hoodies)](http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/--622784133)
> 
> [Where Reader ft. meme team picks on Oikawa](http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/There-there-Tooru-kun-623219493)


	24. Expressions

Although you wanted to sort things out right away, it wasn't really the best time for you to start sorting out your thoughts when you had exams right around the corner.

Currently, you and Oikawa had opted to go study at a local library the week before exams rather than continuing the usual after club practice. But although both of you guys had started out strong and were quite diligent in your studies, it soon fizzled out and Oikawa had lost interest first resulting in you falling to the same fate.

To rephrase, Oikawa did a very good job in making you lose your focus.

It starts out harmless as Oikawa lets out a loud sigh and leans back in his seat. Then it progressively gets worse as he starts tapping his pencil obnoxiously to get your attention but it only makes you stare even harder at your books.

Soon the tapping quiets down and you hear him scribbling in his notebook, making you assume that he went back to work because you weren't playing along with him.

However, when you hear him rip a piece of paper and subtly slide it over your papers, you let out a chuckle despite how serious you wanted to be at that moment. It was such a poorly drawn scribble he had made on the spot where he seemed to have drawn a reindeer which was apparently Rudolph from his use of his red pen for the nose.

Shaking your head, you finally turn your attention to him, seeing his face light up as you do so. "...I guess it's time to pack up?" You raise your brow at him as he beams at your suggestion.

"You said it, not me~" He hums, packing his stuff faster than he had spread it out to study.

You roll your eyes and pack up as well, but not before waving Oikawa's scribble at him. "I put the blame on this."

Oikawa pouts at your poke at his drawing. "I worked hard on that!" His pout doesn't last long as it's replaced by a thoughtful expression, resting his elbows on the table as he leaned over it. "But you could teach me how to draw a better one?"

The look on his face spelled trouble but you were tired from your study session and just went with whatever he had planned. "Hah...Then come sit beside me and I'll help you draw a reindeer before we head home."

He sends you a cheeky grin as he immediately makes his way beside you excitedly, plopping down on the seat next to you. Oikawa looks at you expectantly as you carefully rip out a page from your notebook and place it on the table between the two of you.

Placing your own pencil tip on the page, you start to draw the head. "So you start it like...this." You eye him to make sure he pays attention before you start drawing. To your surprise, Oikawa focuses on it intently, his finger trying to copy your movements on the table.

Once you finish, you turn your attention back to Oikawa who continues to give it a hard stare before he copies how you drew it with his pencil and successfully draws it similar to his first scribble.

"Eh~ This...doesn't look right..." Oikawa trails off, staring at the head of the reindeer. His eye darts from your doodle to his before it widens when you place your smaller hand over his. Oikawa's head snaps towards you but you're focused on the paper between you two.

Your brows scrunch when you noticed him starting to falter and you carefully start a new doodle on the page. "Lets try with another method then." With your hand placed over his, it was harder to grasp where the pencil was but Oikawa kept it steady.

Soon, both of you guys have finished the doodle and you promptly remove your hand from his and grin at him. "I'll let you add the finishing touch!" You urge him to take the red pen when he stares at you with a blank expression.

"...Ah, thanks!" He perks up and takes the pen, adding the red spot on the reindeer's nose. Once he does so, he leans back and admires the work that both of you did.

Turning away from the doodle, he shoots you a wink. "Teamwork, right?"

You roll your eyes and nod. "For sure."

As you pack up the rest of your supplies and Oikawa goes back to get his bag, you speak again. "You're always teaching me how to play volleyball so well so I hope the way I taught you was understandable..." You walk up to him once you get your stuff together and send him a sheepish smile.

It's silent for a while as he gives you another blank stare until you feel his hand ruffle your hair which was accompanied by his amused voice. "I got to say I'm a fan of your teaching style~" Looking up from his hand, he grins as he waves the fresh doodle by his face. "Only if it's reserved for me of course! Plus, I just keep getting gifts from you so it's a nice trade off~"

You chuckle and stand from your seat. "Other than the doodle, I'm not sure what else I've given you..." You ponder in thought. "Actually, haven't you given me more gifts? You'd treat me for cake at the cafe and..."

_He'd be there for you in your highs and lows._

Blinking, your thoughts startle you. "...Lots of things!" You look away from him and laugh somewhat awkwardly, annoyed that your thoughts have been more in your face these days.

Oikawa gives you a look before he wraps his arm around your shoulders. "I think you're forgetting how you threw me a surprise party?" He squeezes your shoulder to remind you even further. "And you also gave me..." Oikawa's voice trails off for a moment. "...Lots of things!" His voice raises a couple notches, successfully making you glance at him quizzically soon after.

"Well, take good care of whatever I gave you." You couldn't hide the amused tone in your voice as you noticed Oikawa shaken up from whatever he was thinking about.

"Of course I will! It's from you~" He gives you a relieved smile for not asking for an elaboration, reaching his hand to pat your head. "And same to you!"

You only laugh at his well-executed wink and peace sign combination and shake your head.

"Oh!" Oikawa suddenly calls out, making you jump a little. "Can we stop by somewhere before we head home? I promise it'll be quick!"

You raise your brow at his sudden proposition but sigh in agreement if not for the excited expression on his face.

Oikawa brightens at your response and turns both of you guys in a different direction, slipping his hand off your shoulder and taking your hand, tugging you with him. "You won't regret it~"

You're startled at his bold move when he once again laces his fingers with yours. Looking at him, you notice his focus is trained elsewhere, trying to figure out where to go. You sigh and let him lead the way, silently mulling on the feeling you got the longer the two of you guys held hands.

~~

"Wait for me here!" Oikawa ushers you to a wooden bench and waits for you to sit down before he continues. "Okay, I'll be right back!"

Before you could get a word out yourself, he runs off to get whatever he came for.

Sighing on the bench, you place your bag beside you, rolling your shoulders from the strain it felt from carrying all your books. You look at your watch before you pull out your sketchbook and pencil, starting to doodle as you waited.

"Oh, hey [Surname]-chan!"

Looking up from your sketchbook, you notice that Tadashi has stopped in front of you, shooting you his usual friendly smile. "Tadashi-kun, what brings you here?"

Tadashi holds up a plastic bag from his side to indicate he had to run some errands. "Just picking up some groceries. And you?" His eyes are curious as he sees you sketching in a less than ideal spot.

"Just waiting for Tōru-kun," you answer, shrugging at Tadashi. "No idea what he's up to though."

Tadashi laughs, "as usual, right? But..." He gives you a thumbs up, shooting you an approving smile. "It's nice to see you just going along with him when he does that."

You shrug as you wave your hand dismissively. "He's always been like that..." You trail off when you see Tadashi send you a knowing look.

"Maybe, maybe not?" He taps his chin in wonder before he chuckles at your puzzled expression. "Though it's nice to see that he brought out a new expression on your face."

It startles you a little to hear him say that, blinking slowly as you processed the information. "...New expression?"

"Mhm." He hums as a response before he scratches the back of his head, looking around the two of you. "Hey...do you need someone to wait with you?"

You're pulled from your thoughts when he asks you a question, shaking your head at his offer. "Oh! No need, thank you for your concern though." Pointing at his bag, you continue. "Plus, your parents might need those right away."

Tadashi still looks unconvinced and you sigh until you notice Oikawa in the distance. "That's Tōru-kun over there so I won't keep you any longer." You watch as he turns around to clarify that Oikawa was coming.

"...Alright." Tadashi takes his leave, waving you goodbye as he did so. "See you tomorrow!"

You give him a wave of your own before you attention is brought to Oikawa's figure that gets progressively closer at a faster speed than you expected.

"...Were you running?"

"Wasn't that Tadashi?" Oikawa glanced in the direction Tadashi had gone in, ignoring your question.

"Yeah, I ran into him while I was waiting." You quirked your brow at Oikawa's actions. "What did you need to get?"

Oikawa gives you a long scrutinizing look before he lets out a resigned sigh, motioning you to close your eyes and hold out your hands. You comply with him, following his instructions.

"You better not be messing with me," you warn him, your eyes still closed. You hear him chuckle at you along with the sound of a crinkling plastic bag.

"Isn't that something you say  _before_  you let down your guard?" His teasing tone was loud and clear, and if your eyes were open you would have rolled them by now.

Sighing at him, you respond. "I trust you."

The crinkling stops as you hear him let out a deep sigh. "...Oh you're good." The noise starts up again after a moment passes, stopping once you feel something in your hands. Just from the feel of it you could already guess what you had just received.

"Okay, open~"

You blink down at the volleyball placed in your hands before you turn to Oikawa's expectant gaze, observing if you liked the present. You chuckle despite the situation, making Oikawa's brows furrow.

It was to be expected really. He is a volleyball dork after all.

Gripping the volleyball in your hands, you give Oikawa your brightest smile. "I love it." You bit your cheek in thought as you processed your following words before you continued. "I hope this means you'll teach me more?"

Not being able to say more, your face is muffled in his chest a second later as he hugs you tightly to him. "Yeah...!" His words are soft, almost breathless from the relief that you liked his present. "Happy belated birthday."

You start squirming in the hug to indicate that it was time for him to get off but Oikawa just tightens the hug even further. "...Not yet," he mumbles quietly, his head resting against yours.

Sighing, you free one of your hands and poke his side, making him jump. "Tōru-kun...Maybe give the hug  _after_  I put the volleyball away."

After you clarified the reason as to why he should let go, he complies, removing you from his grasp and giving your space back as you put the volleyball away. You shoot him a hard stare when he starts coming closer to you, preparing himself for another hug after the volleyball was back in the shopping bag.

"You said after!" Oikawa whines as he tries to step closer when you back away from him.

You keep backing away from him. "That doesn't mean  _right_  after. It could be tomorrow, the day after that, a week from now, maybe a month..."

He pouts at your logic, stopping in his tracks before letting out a resigned sigh. "Fine. I'll walk you home then."

~~

The walk home was its usual peaceful silence until Oikawa broke it with a pondering thought.

"Hey, your expression nowadays..." He trails off, glancing at you.

You raise your brow at his vague statement. "What's wrong with my expressions?" It's been twice today that it has been mentioned and you were curious of the faces that brought such attention.

Oikawa immediately raises his hands in defense. "No, not like that!" He drops it as his voice takes on a more subdued tone. "Hey...Did you meet any new people recently?"

"Hm?" Your brows scrunch in thought. More often than not, you spent the most time with Oikawa. "Why do you ask?"

He lets out a mix between a frustrated sigh and a whine. "You can't see it yourself?"

"Well no, that's why I'm asking." At this point both of you guys had finally arrived at your home, standing at the front of your house. You place your hands on your hips and give him an expectant stare, waiting for him to elaborate.

Oikawa glances away from you as he looks to the side, his fingers combing through his hair. "You look like...like a girl in love."

You unconsciously take a sharp intake of air and successfully choke on your spit at his words. The statement was surprising and you didn't expect it to come out of Oikawa's mouth. You wave off Oikawa's hand when he tries to pat your back and look down, feeling your face creep up with warmth.

For you to react so strongly to his statement could only mean...

It's silent for a moment as you try to get your bearings and Oikawa's hand dangles back at his side. You're still facing the ground as you hear him let out a chuckle. "Hmm, did you find out you like someone?"

You don't notice his eyes widen as you begin to get even more flushed at his question, not responding to him.

"Hah~ I guess I was right." Oikawa reaches for the top of your head and ruffles your hair before he ends it off with a light pat, successfully making you look up at him again. "Don't mind it, it's a nice look for you~" He pokes your nose lightly and gives you a playful wink.

You could only stare blankly at him as he gives you his broad smile, your words catching in your throat.

"Ah look at the time~ I better run to catch the last train! See you tomorrow!" He parts with a strange smile and a wave before he walks off, leaving you with the answer you've been searching for.

 


	25. Spotty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually slides a long side chapter feat. Oikawa*
> 
> This chapter will be jumping from past to present so I hope that with this notice it won't be a confusing read.
> 
> (The text in between the stars is what is happening in the present time.)
> 
> Without further ado, I hope this chapter answers some questions you may have had and maybe lets you discover things you never thought about! Enjoy <3

 

How you guys first met and interacted until you officially called each other friends was so gradual. But the moment Oikawa realized it could be something more made him fall too hard too fast.

 

☆

He tosses his volleyball in the air as he absentmindedly spikes it. How did it even come to this?

☆

 

He thinks back to the moment when he started to notice you. Sure, you guys went home at around the same time and sat by each other on the train but that moment he really took notice was probably around the time you guys spoke to each other. He could remember it so clearly.

It was the day that he had peeked into your art club room to see you working away on your canvas. You looked so focused, so in your element and he could see that you were clearly enjoying yourself. Then he was amused to see you looking at him in awe through the gym door window so openly that very same day.

That day he packed up early and took the train, pleasantly surprised to see you and that bright red spot on your nose. He chats with you in a lighthearted manner, and is later amused at your strange but refreshing gestures when you shared your milk bread with him. He found himself being intrigued by your ever changing facial expressions; from when he pointed out the paint on your nose to when he called you Rudolph the moment you stepped off the train. It was a spontaneous thing, but it had just slipped out so naturally.

 

☆

Oikawa walks over and takes his volleyball as he chuckles at the memory.

☆

 

He could also remember that once he looked at his phone that day, he had accidentally taken a photo of you with a distraught look on your face. It looked as if you had just noticed that the spot was there. Oikawa had considered deleting it but decided against it.  _He might as well show you before he did_ , Oikawa reasoned with himself.

That very next day Oikawa was walking over to Iwaizumi's classroom and sees you walk out. Without a second thought, he changes his destination and walks over to you, calling you the nickname you weren't too terribly fond of. Oikawa found it enjoyable to engage in such friendly banter with you and it just felt so refreshing.

 

☆

He idly holds onto his volleyball, getting lost in his thoughts.

☆

 

There was that first time when he waited by your club room and startled you, a bit shaken by his presence. Being able to interact with you those few times made him realize that your company was something he wouldn't mind having around more often. You naturally fell into a conversation with him, agreeing with his proposition about waiting for each other after practice with a firm nod. He wasn't too sure on your reasons for it but he was still happy all the same.

The time he was most pleasantly surprised back then would be a tie between when you visited volleyball practice for the first time and when he found out that you drew a picture of him. You were honest with him about not being able to watch him practice volleyball with the team and he couldn't help but feel respect at the thought that you didn't sugar coat it or lie to him. But what was amusing was when he had caught you red-handed with a drawing of him and you had denied it out of embarrassment even if both of you knew what was up.

 

☆

Another toss. Another smack.

☆

 

What really boosted his respect for you was that unfortunate day when his fans did something they shouldn't have. He heard about it from Iwaizumi right away, and he still had a slight bump on his head to prove it to this day. After Oikawa heard about how they were picking on you, he made plans to go talk to them during lunch—only to find that you had planned to do the same thing.

He remembered it well: clear eyes, unwavering stance, oozing determination and confidence as you talked with his fans to clear the air and set things straight. He prepared himself to jump in when he saw his fans start to huddle around you but your voice cut clear through them and made him halt in his steps.

_"Oikawa-san is a great guy so there is no reason to blow this up out of proportion. He likes talking with you guys so isn't it better to focus your energy on someone you do like? This time might be better spent cheering him on?"_

Soon after, the dispute was solved from any further attacks and you had left, leaving his fans in the hall and unknowingly leaving him gaping as he stared at your retreating back.

But that's not all he discovered about you that day. When he had walked with you to the art clubroom and he had seen that the painting you were working so earnestly on was ruined, he felt annoyance at what people had become. He let out a comment, implying that he knew what was going on and waited for you to complain to him about his fans.

However, you had just replied with a simple response.

_"Ah, that. It's not finished yet."_

Soon after you had modified your work to make it even greater than it was previously. He was blown away by the strength of your will and even more blown away when you shared some words of wisdom to him—words that he didn't know that he needed to hear.

He certainly saw you in a new angle that day.

 

☆

Oikawa pauses as he lets the volleyball drop as he ruffles his hair a bit.

☆

 

Your friendship with each other continued to grow even further when he showed you how to play volleyball for the first time. He relished in the excitement on your face every time you had tossed the ball to him and he had easily tossed it back. He didn't even notice how much running he was doing until he stood still. It honestly didn't matter to him, it was just  _fun._

You reminded him of how fun volleyball could be. It made him realize how much he had lost himself as he just tried to become better and better...to the point where he almost forgot why he was playing in the first place.

First and foremost, he loved volleyball with all his heart and he was so thankful that he had met someone like you to remind him of that very important fact.

It was also the day that you had traded numbers, Oikawa feeling his excitement build up at the thought that you had just wanted to be his friend and pursued him for nothing more.

...Although, that was also the day when he had received the nickname 'Spotty'. It was a love-hate relationship. His teammates teased him for the nickname but he couldn't make himself tell you to stop, seeing your amused expression whenever you used it.

At least you had some mercy (unlike him) and barely said it unless you deemed it worthy.

 

☆

Oikawa breaks from his thoughts when the door to the gym opens, your head popping through the open door as you shot him a smile. He nods when you give him a look and gestures that he'll clean up as you wait for him at the bleachers.

☆

 

Looking at you, Oikawa is reminded of how he had lost his phone that one sad day and you had found it for him—also finding out about what he called you on his phone.

Oikawa liked your name. It was sounded nice and it suited you well. But if you were to ever ask, Rudolph would be number 1 on his list.

 

☆

Oikawa feels a smack on his arm and sees you looking at him with a quirked brow. "You're spacing out so much today!"

He only chuckles as he places his arm right at home on your shoulders, urging both of you guys to start walking home.

☆

 

When you start talking to him about the photos he had sent to you that day, his thoughts are brought back to when he had finally shown you the photo he had mistakenly took that day you guys officially met on the train. It was amusing to see your flustered expression as you tried to compromise with him, earning the portrait you drew of him in the process.

That was also when Oikawa finally deemed in necessary that you call him in a friendlier manner, rather than the stuffy 'Oikawa-san'.

 

☆

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" You voice out as you once again take him out of his train of thought.

Oikawa grins as he responds to your question, his voice unable to hide the teasing undertone to it.

"Hmm, a lot of things~"

☆

 

You grumble at his response but say nothing more on the subject, letting you two walk the rest of the way to the train in a comfortable silence. Your consideration towards him reminds him of the time when he stopped visiting you after club practice, him working three times as hard for the game against Shiratorizawa. He knew you had questions about it but you waited until he said it on his own, you just supporting him and his decisions as he practiced.

You were such a good friend to him but that moment when you visited him after the loss made him wonder if that's all he thought you were.

When he had stubbornly stayed to practice after the game, you had crashed in and pulled him away from his self-deprecating thoughts. You then brought him to the art club room where you urged him to paint something to relieve stress to which he complied—he would do anything to get rid of the feeling he had felt right now.

Oikawa had completely unraveled before you, breaking down and speaking his innermost thoughts.

However, you had just showered him with an aura of comfort, coaxing him down with warm smiles and saying words that he needed to hear. The moment you told him that he wasn't alone and how it was a 'team effort', he stared at the ground wordlessly, wondering how he managed to get so lucky and found someone like you.

Just a touch of your hand was all it took for something to build up inside of Oikawa. Maybe it was there earlier, he couldn't really tell.

All he knew was that when he had held your hand that day, he knew he wouldn't be able to let go from then on.

 

☆

You munch on some milk bread as you glanced at Oikawa's faraway expression. As much as you wanted to know what was running though his mind, it seemed like he was thinking hard on something right now.

You decide to take the time to also think hard on something you should do as well.

And of course, it involved Oikawa.

☆

 

It was hard for Oikawa to face you the following day, being reminded of the fact that he would see you at the double date that he ironically planned.

He had just wanted to spend time with you outside of school and meeting Ami at the gym doors was the perfect opportunity.

The only thing that threw him off was when he and Hanamaki had come to pick you guys up at the art club room. He saw you, Ami and a guy he spoke with a couple times prior since he was in Iwaizumi's class and his group of friends always seemed to block the door.

But that guy,  _Tadashi_ , had clearly set up an invitation for you to spend more time with him. Considering how he interacted with you, Oikawa could tell right away about how the guy felt about you since, well, Oikawa was like that too.

Oikawa couldn't think clearly after that, not being able to look you in the eye and giving you the cold shoulder. He knew it wasn't your fault but he couldn't help protest at how defenseless you were. Well, he couldn't say defenseless but he was still upset that you agreed to Tadashi so easily.

He knew you had caught onto his hot and cold attitude and quickly made plans to split up, linking your arm to his. Oikawa flinched at the contact, feeling slightly guilty at how he acted during the double date. The main point of the date was for Hanamaki and Ami but he had just realized his feelings just a couple days ago so everything was just so fresh that he didn't know what to do with it.

Once again, you had taken the time to sit down with him and listen to what he had to say, even if it wasn't much. He had no idea how to put it into words but every time you guys spent time together, the feeling continued to grow more and more.

He knew you were frustrated at his response, heck, he was frustrated that he couldn't give a proper response! But he was so glad that you just sighed and nodded to yourself as you accepted that you had to wait for him to elaborate on it later on.

It was fine for that moment until a surprising event had happened which lead to you stumbling on top of Oikawa.

He flushed faster than he would like to admit, not ready for the surprise attack. It's not that he didn't like that you were...really close...but he didn't know what he would blurt out if you stayed on top of him any further.

Thankfully, you had gotten off him and soon after you guys walked to the train.

As you guys were waiting for the train. Oikawa vowed to make sure that next time you guys hung out, you would have the best time. When you chuckle at his words and respond with a teasing smile, he finally figured out how to put his feelings into words.

He liked you.

 

☆

Oikawa hums a lighthearted song as he walks you home, his arm slung over your shoulder as if it was at home.

"Milk bread for your thoughts...?" You voice out, staring at him curiously.

Oikawa stares to you for a second before he bursts out laughing. "Well, just for saying that phrase, I'll tell you." He leans in closer as if he were sharing a secret. "Just thinking about how we ended up meeting each other."

You pull back from him, your brows raised. "You mean on the train? Is it that much to think about?"

"I guess it is~" He gives you a wink as he ruffles your hair lightly.

☆

 

The moment that he knew about Tadashi's affections for you, Oikawa stepped up his game. Maybe he was getting a little touchy but he didn't mind it. Unfortunately, you did. But this was the only way he knew how to express his feelings and he didn't know how else to express it.

Luckily, someone was on his side—Ami. She had come in when the volleyball team was on a water break and had informed him that Tadashi would be staying with you in the art club room after club time.

Oikawa searched her expression to see that she had figured him all out. Ami gave him a thumbs up and said good luck before she made her way to Hanamaki. He stood in his spot for a moment longer as he thought about if he should leave his extra practice early that day.

It doesn't take long for him to decide that he'll leave practice early to see you in the art club room and he was glad he did so when he sees you and Tadashi so cozy with each other. What irked him what that you had clearly saw him (or rather, heard him) come in but you had leaned over Tadashi's shoulder to talk about something.

He couldn't deny how childish his next few actions were from suddenly interrogating Tadashi or playing around and putting paint on you. Oikawa didn't know what to do. The more he saw you and Tadashi together, the more he could see how much you suited him. Tadashi could help you, heck, he even gave you a chance with that art exhibition!

But Oikawa was comforted by your previous words about when he had compared himself before.

_"Everything is something Oikawa."_

The moment when you had told him that he had made a pretty good Rudolph too, he kept thinking to himself that maybe he was that something to you too.

 

☆

You rolled your eyes at Oikawa's dismissive response and nudged your shoulder to his side. "Well if anything is bothering you, you should tell someone. Unfortunately, we're not mind-readers." You shoot him a teasing smile. "...Even if I  _really_  wanted to be one right now."

"I'll let you know one of these days~" Oikawa returns your teasing smile with his own. "Wait patiently, Rudolph!"

☆

 

You were patient, understanding, forgiving and most of all, confident. The time you had seemed to lose confidence, Oikawa knew he had to do something to get a smile back on your face.

Oikawa had learned a lot about you that day. You had shared your own weaknesses to him, presenting how vulnerable it had made you. He was glad that you could talk about your problems with him comfortably. That was when he realized that he could show his feelings in this way as well.

Just as you were patient with him, so would he. Just as you tried to understand him, he would do the same. He would support you and give you those tiny pushes forward to get you back on track and keep you steady so you wouldn't fall.

There was that but having dinner at your place was just something else. The moment after he had texted Ami about planning an escape just in case, your parents were by the door, smiling a little too sunnily (maybe just the mom actually, now that he thought about it).

They sat him down in the living room, just reassuring him that it wouldn't take long. Oikawa couldn't even answer most of it as your mom fired so many questions at him and your dad just nodded beside her.

Clearing his throat, Oikawa gathered up all the questions and tried to answer them all in a couple sentences.

"[Surname]-chan is a very driven and motivated person who loves art dearly. She had supported me more times than I can count. I couldn't have asked for a better friend."

Your mom just gives Oikawa a knowing smile as she stands up, your dad following after. "Thank you for taking good care of her." She winks at him before she urges him to follow her to the dining room. "I hope to see you around more often, hopefully by my daughter's side?"

Oikawa flushes at her implication, stiffly walking to the dining room with the thought that your parents had completely seen through him.

 

☆

You guys finally make it home, Oikawa sliding his arm off your shoulder before pulling you into a hug. You let out a noise in surprise only for Oikawa to chuckle at you.

"I need a hug to make sure I get home safely too~"

Rolling your eyes, you comply with his somewhat needy explanation, wrapping your arms around him as well.

"You better make sure you get home okay then, Spotty."

☆

 

As he hugged you to him, he was brought back to the time when you guys had hugged for the first time. What's more is that you had initiated it.

He remembered going stiff the moment it happened, his mind blanking for a moment before it screamed at him, telling him that this was real. Of course he knew you were thankful for him but when you gave him a hug even when you weren't much of a physical person, so many things just kept building up inside him.

Little by little, you guys walked closer to each other so you could meet in the middle.

Although when you had that talk in the café and you had lumped him together with Ami and Tadashi, Oikawa knew he still had a long way to go.

For now, he'd continue to walk towards you.

 

☆

The train ride back to his house was a quiet one, Oikawa mulling on the fact that it seemed harder to part from you every time he walked you home.

He was indeed whipped if could say so himself.

His past relationships had brushed past the surface as they were his fans that had pursued him. Each relationship started where they agreed to go out with the official titles 'boyfriend/girlfriend' and went on dates.

But there was something about starting a relationship at a different angle.

From strangers to friends, friends to lovers.

Oikawa had never thought about the aspect before but looking at you, he wanted to try. More than that, he wanted it to work out.

Staring at the glass window of the train, he looked outside, waiting for his stop so he could walk home.

☆

 

"Iwa-chan I need help~" Oikawa whined in the phone as his eyes darted back and forth from two different suits. He couldn't decide which one made him look better and he had called up Iwaizumi for assistance.

All he heard on the other end was cussing and the usual, "Stupid Trashykawa it's early, let me sleep!"

Oikawa continued to whine as he sent photos of the two sets of suits to Iwaizumi, quickly getting a reply saying he should go for the one in the second photo.

Grinning, Oikawa sends a cheeky 'thank you~' to Iwaizumi, only to receive a reply saying that he can't bother him for the rest of the day. What makes Oikawa smile was that Iwaizumi had sent a text afterwards, despite his annoyance on the phone.

**Iwaizumi: Good luck Trashykawa.**

Humming to himself, Oikawa began to prepare for the art exhibition, planning to come there early so he could see you first.

That day was one of the best days he had. He got to see your ecstatic expression and how dolled up you were. But the best thing about it was when he had mistakenly blurted out your name and you had responded with his name.

To be honest, he thought that he had only said your name in his head but his suspicions were confirmed when he saw your stunned expression. Oikawa was about to play it off and tease you about it but didn't have a chance to when you threw back his own name, stunning him twice as much.

A lot of things had happened that day from when Ami and Tadashi teased him to when he had a talk with Jun. He discovered so many sides to you and he realized he wanted to continue to be by your side to see even more.

 

☆

The walk home for Oikawa went by faster than he expected, realizing that he had arrived at the steps on his house when he came to his senses.

It wasn't news for him to be thinking about you but as the days passed, it's all he seemed to think about. He figured that if he was interested, he was into it one hundred percent.

For volleyball, he had taken steps to improve himself on each and every strike.

And just like volleyball, he had taken another step forward that one rainy day.

☆

 

It was a lazy day as Oikawa was on the couch with Takeru, watching cartoons. To his surprise and great interest, it seemed to be about aliens this episode.

One thing pulled him away from the television screen to the smaller phone screen when his phone buzzed, telling him he had a new text. His face scrunches when he realizes that it's Iwaizumi, asking if he wanted to join the team and hang out tomorrow.

Oikawa quickly types down that he's busy, still going over the idea that he wanted to ask you to hang out tomorrow. He wasn't too sure yet. His phone buzzes again and he lights up, finally receiving a response from you.

He had texted you quite often and although he could tell at times how fed up you were about the spam he sent...sometimes, he was more than thrilled to see you respond promptly to each and every one of them. It made him feel special and he hoped that his texts made you feel the same way as well.

Takeru would glance at Oikawa every so often, leaning over his shoulder to ask who he was texting so intently. Oikawa just grins.

"Just a certain Rudolph~"

Takeru just blinks at his uncle's response before rolling his eyes, turning his attention back to the cartoons on the screen.

When Takeru still doesn't hear from Oikawa he speaks again. "Hey, can we go outside after it rains? I have new rain boots and I want to splash in the puddles."

Oikawa looks at his phone with scrunched brows, seeing you stop responding to him all of a sudden—you were in the middle of telling him a story that happened at school. He pulls his eyes away from his phone and smiles at Takeru. "Hmm, I know a good park that has big puddles!"

As soon as it stopped raining, the two boys set out to their destination.

It was a good call on his part that he brought two umbrellas and an even better call that he decided to take Takeru to the park by your place. Takeru wasn't completely unaware of what he was planning and Oikawa didn't hide the matter, answering whatever questions Takeru may have had. It's just that some of the questions Takeru asked...Oikawa couldn't answer them with you around.

Once they had brought you home, Takeru had once again spoke out his thoughts, not bothering to think over them. Oikawa chuckles at his nephew as he takes into consideration the words Takeru gave him.

Takeru had probably unknowingly given him the push he needed to ask you to hang out tomorrow.

 

☆

Oikawa steps into his house, calling out he was home to his family that was inside before he took off his shoes and made his way to his room to clean up.

He carefully takes out all his gym clothes before putting them aside in the laundry to wash later. After he does so, he changes out of his uniform to comfortable clothes to sleep in and got himself ready for dinner.

☆

 

Oikawa's eye twitched when he answered the door bright and early in the morning, only to find Takeru grinning up at him.

"I want to hang out with Rudolph too!" Takeru's face breaks out into a wide grin, seeing Oikawa's mouth gape at him.

They stare down at each other for a moment before Oikawa lets out a deep sigh, cocking his head to the side to gesture Takeru to get in the house. "...Alright."

Takeru cheers as he bounces into the house, excited to chat with you once more. He had noticed a difference when he had met his uncle recently and if in fact that was your doing, he wanted to know how you did it.

Oikawa closes the door, a slight pout on his lips when he realizes his plans for that day were unusable. Although he wanted to hang out with just you, Takeru was still dear to him and he knew you wouldn't mind having Takeru around.

Pulling out his phone, he texted you his address and directions along with an apology for changing the location so suddenly.

Although he wasn't surprised, he was still relieved to see you agree so easily to it, texting that you would be there shortly.

When you had arrived, you had pleasantly surprised him with the idea that they should all play volleyball in the park for the day. Oikawa glanced at your expression to see if it was really okay only to find you shooting a grin in his direction, letting him know that whatever you guys did was an enjoyable time.

He was glad to know you felt the same about that aspect.

The time had come when you had left to go get drinks, Oikawa catching the volleyball after another long round of pass. "Takeru, would you mind if I got to talk to [Name]-chan when she gets back?" He gives Takeru a light pat on the shoulder. "After you finish up your drink though!"

Takeru blinks up at Oikawa before he nods slowly. "Yeah, okay." He takes the volleyball from Oikawa's hands before he looks at Oikawa again. "You know, your face has been weird this whole day."

Oikawa chuckles as he raised a brow at his nephew. "Is that so?"

Takeru nods once more, letting out a noise of approval. "You look at Rudolph funny." He pokes Oikawa's stomach. "Did you eat something bad this morning? Maybe I did too since we ate a little before she came over..." Takeru rubs his own stomach, his brows scrunched in concentration.

Oikawa stares at Takeru for a moment before he laughs at Takeru's conclusion. Patting Takeru's head, Oikawa lets out a hum. "Maybe when you're older you'll figure out what kind of face I'm making~" He winks at Takeru, only for Takeru to grunt at his uncle.

"Well I know  _that_  face."

 

☆

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The end of Oikawa's pencil tapped mindlessly on his study table as he stared down at the homework he had to finish before he went to bed. After another couple minutes of being unable to settle down he sighs and leans back on his chair to stretch before his eye catches onto a picture frame on the corner of his desk.

It was the group photo of the birthday party that you had set up for him, along with the flower petal that he had slipped inside the frame and pressed against the glass.

Oikawa had the other photos as well such as the blown up picture of you and Oikawa (he was sure to thank Ami for that every time he saw her) and the photo of the two of you standing by the cake you had made for him. Those photos were hidden carefully in his drawer, just for his eyes and for the sake of not getting teased too much by his family members.

He stares at it for a moment longer, a smile unconsciously etching itself onto his face before he turns back to his homework, feeling more energized than ever.

☆

 

Oikawa was more than a little upset at the start of that day, with not knowing it was your birthday and all. But you had responded to him like you usually did even when he had avoided you to the point where he hadn't even said his birthday greetings to you yet.

You were patient and understanding as you carefully soothed his worries when you placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

You had brightened up his mood when you had playfully asked about his birthday greeting for you, pairing it off with an amused chuckle.

But that moment you had showed him your favorite (and secret) getaway, he was breathless that you had shared it with him. It was another memory he could treasure about the time he spent with you.

From the moments when you were serious and firm to the moments when you were gentle and playful—Oikawa found to like every aspect of you. He didn't know he could like you even more than he did already but you had managed to do so anyway.

...Not that he minded of course.

 

☆

As Oikawa closed his books after he finished his homework for the day, a scrap piece of paper flew out of his notebook, making him grumble as he went over to grab it. Oikawa's movements halt when he notices how it was the doodle you had helped him make during one of the study sessions you guys had.

☆

 

Oikawa treasured each and every moment you guys had. In particular, that day was the day when you had taught him how to draw Rudolph. He enjoyed your focused expression, happy that he was able to see it so close up rather than the usual side view he got when he hung out in the art club room. It made him feel nice when you continued to show bits of yourself and took time to teach things you loved to him.

From that moment you had gone along with his whims, to the moment you had boldly taken his hand to draw—it was never a dull moment. The gap between you two started to feel smaller.

It was also the day he had figured out what to get you as a present when you mentioned how he taught you how to play volleyball. You seemed to enjoy playing it and he liked teaching you so it was a win-win situation.

Oikawa had happily bought the volleyball and started to walk to where he had told you to wait, only to increase his pace when he noticed another familiar figure beside you.

As time went by, Oikawa was continually reminded how accommodating Tadashi was and along with his knowledge in the art field, anything could happen between you two. He knew it could just be nothing but at the same time, he couldn't overcome all his childish qualities right away.

Tadashi had left and the first thing Oikawa noticed was your face—the expression you had to be exact. It made his stomach churn almost painfully as you had looked back at him, unaware of the rosy flush on your cheeks.

The flush continued to be there as he noticed that you were in almost like a daze during the quiet walk back to your house. Oikawa's hands clenched by his sides as he willed himself to just bring up how you were acting.

It doesn't take long for Oikawa to mention your expression but the moment he sees your face, his heart drops. It had been the first time he had seen it and although it looked so lovely on your face, he wondered if it could be him or...

Oikawa stops his thought as he reassures your flustered state and quickly tells you that he has to head home, mulling over the things he had discovered.

 

☆

Oikawa couldn't sleep. That look on your face he saw a couple days ago was still clear as day in his memory. You looked like a girl in love. His heart clenched painfully, wondering who had taken your affections.

He tossed and turned in his bed, grumbling about how he couldn't find a comfortable position.

Sighing, he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling.

Oikawa closed his eyes once more, the anxiety tiring him out and putting him to sleep.

☆


	26. Affirmation

Your hands grip your cell tightly as you immediately called up your brother, one hand holding your cell by your ear while the other held an opened letter from the university you applied at weeks ago.

Your voice couldn't hold in the excitement when you heard your brother answer the phone, cutting him off before he could even let out a proper hello. "Jun! I got in!"

The other line is silent for a moment until you hear a chuckle. "Well that much was obvious." His tone was proud and you could picture that approving smile on his face so clearly in your mind. "So? When are you planning to move in?"

You excitedly tell him your plans about visiting sometime after graduation to check out the university properly and how you'll move in a week before the semester starts so you have a grasp of your surroundings. Jun lets out occasional hums and 'ahs' to let you know he was following along.

Once you explained your plan of action after getting the exciting news, Jun lets out a hum in thought. "...Did you tell any of your friends yet?"

A beat passes when you notice the hidden implication he asked with that question. You lean back in your desk chair as you let out a sigh. "No, not yet. I get kind of sad knowing I won't be able to see them all the time like usual..."

You hear rustling on the other line before Jun speaks again. "You're not giving them enough credit. You've made good friends so if you put in that time and effort, they'll stick around."

Your nose crinkles at his words as you begrudgingly agree. "I know, I know. But at the same time, it's not the same! I just don't want to lose the closeness I have with Tō—them." You correct yourself quickly when you realize what you were about to say.

Jun continues speaking as if he didn't notice your flustered state on the line. "Hmm...I guess you shouldn't be talking to me about this right?" He pauses as he waits for you to let the words sink in. "I'm sure they're thinking the same thing right now."

Your mouth opens to retort but your thoughts bring you back to when you mentioned moving away after high school and Oikawa's lack of energy upon receiving the news. It made more sense now that the biggest piece of the puzzle was found.

When you don't say anything to Jun's response, he lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Well I guess my job here is done. I'll be waiting for some more exciting news coming from you very soon~"

He disconnects the call and you pull away the cell from your ear wordlessly, staring at it blankly.

"...I guess he gets that trait from mom."

~~

Ami's mouth gapes at you, her eyes sparkling when you met up with each other that same day and you caught her up on what had been going on in your head. Your gaze overlooks the park scene you've grown accustomed to as your fingers fiddle with each other nervously, waiting for her to finally speak.

"...Finally," she breathes out as she leans against your shoulder. "I had to bite my tongue to make sure I didn't say anything! I mean there was the photo but I couldn't help it..." Grinning at you, she nudges her shoulder to yours slightly. "So...?" Ami trails off, asking for an elaboration on what you planned to do next.

You bit the inside of your cheek in thought as your eyes instinctively looked up. "Well, I'm not really sure how to tell him? I don't want to overwhelm him with how I feel about him after all..."

Ami looks at your fidgeting form with amusement, grinning cheekily at how lost you looked at the moment. "First, you have to tell him about your acceptance." She raises her index finger and taps it in between your scrunched brows. "Also, it's hard to say how to tell him but life has a good way of working things out for you~" Ami hums, looking away from you as she turns her focus on the other people chattering in the park.

You let out a groan as you slump in your seat. "So it's pretty much a go with the flow thing?"

Ami smiles at you sheepishly. "Or more like a get a feel of the situation I guess...?" She leans back on the bench with you. "Considering Oikawa had been trying to get your attention for a while, he won't do anything unless you make the next move."

Pursing your lips, you sigh inwardly. "...Makes sense."

Your focus turns to the buzzing in your pocket a moment later, your hand reaching in to pull out your cell. You blink at it for a while to the point where Ami leans over your shoulder and laughs.

"See? What did I tell you?"

~~

Currently, you stood idly in front of Oikawa's house, straightening your clothes ever so slightly as you waited for the door to open. Oikawa had texted you about if you wanted to come over to study that day and when you asked why he had given you a vague response on something to do with photos.

...Whatever that means.

The door flings open not a second too soon revealing Oikawa with a tint of color on his cheeks, his parents trailing behind him with grins on their faces. You opted to raise your hand up to do a small wave, paired off with a soft hello. Oikawa's mouth twitches up into a smile and he opens his mouth to respond but his mom cuts him off.

"You must be [Name]-chan~" His mom subtly pushes Oikawa to the side to let you in their home.

You blink confusedly at the sunny expression his mom presented you with but your attention soon turns to the person who lightly taps your shoulder.

"Nice to finally meet you!" His dad also held the same sunny expression, eyes smiling along with everything else on his face. He starts to usher you somewhere but Oikawa stops him.

"Ahh!" Oikawa quickly cuts in and tugs your arm to pull you towards him. "We have to study, go do whatever you were doing before!" He pulls you away from his parents that were starting to crowd around you in their excitement and leads you to the stairs. "We're studying in my room!" Oikawa calls out to his parents, his hand still tugging your arm to lead you away from their prying eyes.

It happened quickly as Oikawa pulled you into his room and closed the door with a deep sigh. He stared hard at the door for a while and you wondered if he could actually see through it.

Not being able to take his odd behavior any longer, you breathe in and open your mouth to speak up but it seems that Oikawa knew what you were going to ask.

"My parents are pretty nosy..." he mutters quietly, implying that they were most likely listening in right now.

You shake your head and laugh a bit. "Same with mine but yours are quite friendly!" You start pulling out your books and spread them on the smaller table in the center of his room. "Lets get as much studying as we can today~"

He groans as he leans back and lies on his carpeted floor. "How can you be so focused so fast?"

Rolling your eyes at his already defeated figure, you pull out the last few materials out of your bag. "Well if you're not in the mood to study, do you mind telling me about what the photos were about?"

It's silent for a while as your brow quirks at his still figure. After a couple more seconds, his arm raises up slowly to point at something on his study table. You trail your eyes to where he was pointing, widening slightly at the framed photo on the corner of his desk.

"Wha—Why did you frame that?!"

Oikawa rolls to his side, his elbow propped up so his hand could support his head as he glanced at you with amusement. "It's a nice memory~" He teasingly taps his cheek with his free hand when he sees you narrow your eyes at him.

You look away from him in a huff, your eyes glancing back at the framed photo when you notice something else. Blinking slowly, you realize there was a small flower petal encased in the frame. You let out a sigh to compose yourself. "...Yeah, it's a good memory."

Before Oikawa could say anymore, you smack down on the small table lightly. "Okay, break time over. Lets actually get some studying done!" You flip open to one of your textbooks and start working through some questions, not noticing the fond look Oikawa was giving you.

~~

It's only been a couple hours since you two had studied and unsurprisingly, Oikawa was the first to lose focus. By lose focus you mean that he was sleeping so soundly in front of you, using his textbook as his pillow.

At this point you just let him sleep, grabbing a thin blanket from his bed and draping it over his shoulders before you studied some more. It continued in this fashion until you heard a light knock on the door before it opened slightly, his mom's head popping in.

"Ah, Tōru's asleep?" She clicks her tongue, disappointment present on her face. "Too bad, it's so fun to tease him~" She winks in your direction, making you realize the similarities she had with Oikawa. "Well, do you want to help me bring the snacks up? Then we can wake up Tōru."

"Sounds good." You nod and stand up, stretching your back slightly to relieve yourself from crouching over your books for hours.

Oikawa's mom sends you a smile as she leads you to the kitchen, opening up for some small talk to fill up the silence. The small talk continues for a while until you see the slight change in her expression, a mischievous look on her face.

"So, I heard you set up a nice surprise party for Tōru~" She eyes you with a glint in her eye. "That's some present you got him!" She lightly taps her cheek, her lips pursed teasingly. Seeing you blink slowly at her in surprise, she laughs before speaking once more.

"Tōru isn't very good at hiding things..." she opens the door to the kitchen and leads you in. "So when I was cleaning up some stray items in his room, I came across the photos from your surprise party~"

She grabs a small plate, placing it on a tray on the counter and ushers you to place the small desserts next to you on the plate as she heated up some water. "I especially like the one where it's zoomed in towards you two!"

Your hand stiffens at her words as you laugh awkwardly, not knowing what to say and put your focus on plating the desserts.

She continues speaking, amused by your reactions. "But I'm happy to put a face on Tōru's new friend. I was getting worried about his knee but after a while, he was starting to take care of it properly. I thought maybe it was your influence." Placing a hand on your shoulder, she gives you a soft smile. "Thank you for being patient with Tōru. He's as stubborn as his father." She laughs as she makes tea and places the tea cups on the tray.

"I'm not sure if it was my influence alone..." you speak up. "He has an amazing team that backs each other up."

You start to lift the tray as you walk with his mom back to Oikawa's room. "I'm glad to be Tōru-kun's friend and he's also been quite patient with me." You grin at Oikawa's mom as she grins back.

"Well, I hope to see you here often~" She opens the door and lets you inside before entering, pushing aside some books so you could put down the tray. After you put down the tray, she stands and gives you a light pat on the back. "Good luck on your studying and I'll let you wake up that heavy sleeper!" She winks before she leaves the room and closes the door quietly, leaving you alone with Oikawa once more.

You sigh as you glance down at Oikawa, still innocently sleeping but had fallen back and sprawled out on the floor. Stepping towards him, you crouch down and poke his cheek softly.

Nothing.

You poke a little harder.

Still nothing.

Feeling irked at this point, you were about to just pull the blanket away from him but his soft grumblings stop you from doing so. You curiously glance at his sleeping face, your lips twitching up in amusement for discovering another thing about Oikawa. Who knew he would sleep talk?

His grumblings are incoherent for a while so you grab some sweets from the tray and some tea, munching down on it as you just relaxed for the moment, sitting by Oikawa as you played with your phone. You look up when his grumblings start getting louder, your fingers halting from scrolling through your social media any further.

"...can't leave..." His brows are furrowed as he shuffles in his sleep. You strain your ear when you hear him say your name after.

You put down your phone promptly as you pinch his cheek, pulling it until his eyes snap open.

"Fuaa—" His half asleep eyes look at yours for a moment before he blinks a couple times, his eyes becoming clearer to the situation he was in.

"Good morning to you sunshine." You raise your brow at him as you pull your hand away from his cheek, letting him sit up.

Oikawa pouts as he nurses his pinched cheek. "Couldn't you have woken me up in a nicer way?" He reaches for the sweets on your plate, nudging your hand that was blocking it. "I deserve this sweet treat after being woken up so harshly!"

"This was the only way you were going to wake up," you retort, shrugging your shoulders. You slap his hand away when he reaches for more of your sweets. "There's more on the tray, get your own."

He just hums innocently at you, still pursuing your own treats. "I want this one~"

You sigh and push the plate towards him, seeing a smug smile on his face when you did so. You watch him steal your dessert and nibble on it, waiting for him to swallow his bite before you speak again. "...Hey, were you having a bad dream?"

Oikawa pauses as the treat he was about to bite into was still balancing on your fork. "...I guess." He places it down as he combs through his hair. "But rather than a dream, it felt more like a premonition..." His eyes dart around the room as he lets out a deep sigh. "Was I talking in my sleep again?"

You scoot closer to Oikawa, pressing your side against his. "Yeah, with this stupidly peaceful expression on your face." You say with a teasing tone but mellow down for your next few words. "...You know I'm going to visit right?" You nudge him lightly. "That includes visiting you."

"That's a relief but..." Oikawa breathes out softly. "I'm just used to seeing you almost every day, you know?" He sets down the dessert on the table, his hands dropping down by his sides as he steadied himself on them, leaning back a little.

You let out a small laugh, making Oikawa turn to you quizzically. "I was thinking the same thing." You grab your teacup and take a sip before you speak again. "...I got in." Your gaze was focused on the ground in front of you, not wanting to see Oikawa's distraught expression again like the time when you first mentioned going away after high school.

Oikawa once again surprises you when he gingerly places his hand over yours, making you look towards his proud expression. "I knew you could do it. Don't forget me when you're famous~" He gives you his infamous wink paired off with a grin.

Your face breaks out into a wide smile as you nod. "How could I forget you if you'll be around me all the time?"

Oikawa smiles softly at you before he pulls you in a hug, his face muffled in your hair as he mumbles something.

Hugging him back, you strain your neck to glance at Oikawa. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear what you said." He hugs you tighter but says nothing. "...What's wrong?"

His words are incoherent so you waited for him to speak clearly, rubbing his back to calm his nerves. "I don't know what to do anymore..." Oikawa's thoughts were all over the place as you tried to connect what each of his phrases meant. "I really..." Oikawa pauses as he pulls away from you promptly, eyes not meeting yours. "Ah, sorry. Lets just study some more before you leave."

He readies himself by starting to open his textbook to the proper page but you stop him, gently placing both your hands on his shoulders. "Do you trust me?" Oikawa gives a small nod but his eyes still aren't meeting yours. "Then...would you be able to look at me and tell me what you see?" You pull your hands away from his shoulders, waiting for him to look at you.

His head doesn't move from his books but he glances at you from the corner of his eye for a moment. "...You already know what you look like."

You sigh as lean forward and tap your forehead to the side of his head before pulling back a little. "But you sure don't, Spotty. C'mon, take a good look."

He complies as he turns his body slightly towards you and his eyes lock onto yours. "...I see that expression again..."

"Right." Your smile is amused when you hear hints of his pouting voice. "Now, who am I looking at right now?"

You wait for a while as you see Oikawa's eyes slowly widen as he slowly leans forward and presses his forehead against yours. "...Me?" His eyes are still locked onto yours as he asks almost breathlessly, like the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

"You trust me, don't you?" You say teasingly, seeing Oikawa's face drop to a look of disbelief.

Oikawa gently places his hands over yours as he sends you a cheeky grin. "As much as you trust me~"

You roll your eyes as you place your free hand on his cheek, feeling him stiffen under your touch. "It's been you for a long time," you murmur out softly before you close the gap between you two, tilting your head slightly and lightly brushing your lips against his.

Oikawa gasps against your lips, stiffening up just like the when you had hugged him for the first time. However, he relaxes quickly, leaning his head forward the moment you pulled away to get a breath in and pressing his lips more firmly to yours.

"W-wait Tō—" His lips capture yours once more when you pull away, his hand sliding through your hair slowly before cradling your head gently. When you grip his shirt lightly, he pulls away, both your eyes being unable to open fully from the haze you both were in.

"...Too long. But finally, you finally—"

Knock. Knock.

The both of you shuffle away from each other instinctively, the sound breaking you guys from the haze. You glanced at the door but it never opened, Oikawa's dad only saying that it was getting late and that he should walk you home. Both of you guys just sat there as you heard his dad's footsteps fade away, leaving only the awkward silence after realizing what the two of you just did.

Oikawa was the first to move, turning his attention over to the small study table and packing your things. Once he sees you staring at him, he grins at you, a flushed tint on his cheeks. "Come help me pack up your things Rudolph~"

The awkward air dissolves as you grin back, making your way over to the table to clean up your materials with him.

"I would help you with yours but you barely opened your books~"

~~

The walk to your house was peaceful, like the stress weighing down on both your minds was finally gone. You walked side by side with Oikawa, listening to him hum softly in the quiet streets. It continues like this for most of the way home until you feel Oikawa brush his hand against yours almost nervously, as if testing to see if you would get mad. You bump your hand to his before gripping it, letting him lace his fingers with yours.

You glance at Oikawa from the corner of your eye, his eyes sparkling and his face beaming. You feel him squeeze your hand for a moment before gripping your hand tighter. It felt like that night Oikawa comforted you and even though his thoughts were unvoiced, it somehow made its way to you anyway.

You smile and reciprocate the gesture.

_I like you too._


	27. It Takes Two

The news spread faster than you expected, voices fluttering about how Oikawa was now off the market as you aimlessly walked through the hallways on a bright Monday morning, yawning as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Ami stood by you almost like a guard dog, her stares making people turn away from you two even with her small form.

"...What was he thinking..." Ami grumbled to herself, eyeing down anyone that wanted to interrogate you for answers.

You had opted to just let people figure things out on their own, not entirely interested in telling every person you saw about your recent relationship. All you needed to know was that the feeling was mutual and you two had made plans to make things work out after graduating.

However, Oikawa wasn't very discreet, not that he needed to hide it or anything, but pressing a light kiss on the crown of your head as soon as he saw you first thing in the morning made everything blow up sporadically. He sent you a cheeky grin before he walked off with Iwaizumi, calling out that he'd meet you for lunch later today.

You rolled your eyes at your current predicament. "He really wasn't..." Ignoring the stares from the people you two had passed by, you raised your hand in a wave, letting Ami know that you could take it from there. "Thanks for walking me to my classroom."

Ami huffs, placing her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing at people she suspected would approach you about your current relationship. "No thanks needed, I need to make sure you're okay." Staring at you with concern, Ami's lips curl down into a slight frown. "I just don't want a repeat of what happened last time...I mean, you were just friends with him before but now...!"

You quiet Ami down by patting her arm softly. "He's just excited, don't hold it against him." The corners of your lips twitch up into a smile. "As for any future problems, I knew what I was getting myself into when I got into a relationship with him. I can handle it."

Ami lets out a resigned sigh as she nods at you. "Alright. But...!" She holds up her index finger and gives you a hard stare. "If anyone gives you a hard time, don't keep it to yourself okay?" Her look doesn't waver until you tilt your head down slightly for a small nod.

With that, Ami's expression reverts back into a grin before she walks off to go to her classroom, telling you to have fun at lunch today with Oikawa. Once her back is turned, you reach your arm out and grip the door handle, sliding the door open.

It wasn't hard to figure out that the chatter died down considerably, your classmates eyeing you like the people in the hallway. Even your girl friends in the class locked their eyes on you, waiting for you to reach your desk so they could bombard you with questions. Letting out an internal sigh, you brace yourself for the impact as you make your way to your desk at a considerable pace.

"[Surname]-chan!" One of the girls greets you with a beaming smile, unable to contain her obvious excitement. "Is it true?!"

Another one of the girls beside the first one questions you at the same time. "Or was Oikawa just being too friendly with you this morning?"

"I mean he is pretty friendly..." A classmate pipes up beside you, making you realize the growing crowd around your desk. You raise a brow at the multiple people asking you questions at the same time, not leaving any room for you to actually answer them. You decide wait for them to settle down.

For Oikawa to handle a crowd like this on a regular basis made you see why he has so much energy all the time, matching the energy around him to keep people engaged. However, you were no Oikawa so you needed another way to handle this situation.

As soon as the thought passed your mind, you heard Iwaizumi's gruff voice call out to the people around you to back off and give you some room. Your classmates are startled by his booming voice, usually saved for Oikawa and his antics, and slowly backed up until Iwaizumi and Tadashi got through to you. Tadashi stood by your desk to keep people from crowding around you again and Iwaizumi said nothing more, eying everyone down until they gave up and went back to their seats, grumbling about how they wouldn't be able to ask Iwaizumi questions either at this rate.

Once they all went back to their own conversations, Iwaizumi turned to you, his brows scrunched slightly. "Sorry you have to go through this." He clicks his tongue in a 'tsk'. "He shouldn't have done that this morning."

You shrug before letting out a chuckle. "What's done is done." An amused expression forms on your face. "But you've had to deal with Oikawa since way back so it's not such a big deal. But thanks." You add, turning to face Iwaizumi and Tadashi.

Iwaizumi's lips quirks up into a small smile. "Well if you need any help, let me or Oikawa know."

You return the smile and nod before your attention is turned to Tadashi. "I'll try to help as well," he pipes up from beside Iwaizumi, giving you a grin paired with a thumbs up.

The bell rings soon after, Iwaizumi and Tadashi giving you one last smile before they went to their seats.

After they leave, you continue putting your materials on your desk, finally noticing a piece of paper slipped onto your table. Looking at it questionably, you open the note, curious of the contents.

_Come to the stairway at lunch._

You blink slowly before you close it, wondering if this was some sort of interrogation or something else. Considering that your desk wasn't messed up like before, it wouldn't be right to assume that the person who wrote this note held any malice. Nodding to yourself, you make a quick 'sorry' in your head as you made up your mind to go to the stairway at lunch without letting Ami know.

When you look up from your desk, you feel hard stares coming from the left of you. Turning your head in that direction, you realize that it is once again Oikawa's fans. The only difference was that their stares held no distaste like the first time; rather, they looked sort of nervous, fidgeting when they noticed you stared back.

They turn away from you quickly and face their backs to you, leaving you to connect the dots about the sender of the note.

~~

Lunch time hits and you slip out of the classroom undetected, heading over to the stairway like you had done some time ago. It wasn't hard to find them, being a large group of girls crowded around the stairway, stopping their chatter once they noticed you making your way towards them.

You say nothing, raising your hand a little and giving a small wave as you looked at them impassively, waiting for them to say what they wanted to say.

The next moment, they all stand up and gather around you quickly, startling you a bit. But what startles you more is when they all synchronized a bow.

"We're sorry [Surname]-san!"

The leader of the group straightens up from her bow first and thrusts out something for you to take, her arms stretched out as she held onto a small item. Reaching out slowly, you grip the item she was holding out for you before taking a look at it—a gift card for the art store.

"We didn't exactly apologize about messing up your canvas before..." She mumbles out, her eyes shifting away from you as she squirmed under your quizzical look.

"Oh that..." You scratch your head, your lips pursed at the surprising turn of events. It didn't occur to you that they would actually apologize for that and actually make an effort to making peace with you. "I don't really mind. If anything, you helped me out and it looks even better now so...thank you." You give a small smile when the leader gapes at your expression.

She holds out her hand and gives you a hard stare. "Sorry for the trouble and..." She trails off, her other hand scratching the back of her neck slightly. "...congrats on getting together with Oikawa."

You grin, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. It felt nice that they were facing you head on and that this dispute between them was officially over. "Thanks."

As both of you let go of each other's hands, she lets out a cough to break the awkward silence forming between you two. "Anyway, you should go meet up with him for lunch now."

Seeing her set up your cue to leave, you send all the fans a small smile before heading off to find Oikawa, a skip in your step as your heart felt considerably lighter at the pleasant surprise that just happened.

It wasn't hard to find Oikawa, running into him as soon as you turned a corner.

"Ack!" He lets out a yelp when you crash into him, holding you steady so you don't fall on top of him.

"Tōru-kun?" Your brows scrunch up into a confused look when you pull away from him, noticing his shifty motions. "What are you...?" It only takes another second for you to click things together—he might have had something to do with the fangirls just now.

Oikawa finally looks you in the eye, gauging your expression before giving you a broad smile—to which you realized he used when he wanted to hide any other expression he had. "Ah! I found you~" He says to you airily, gripping your hand and starting to walk with you in tow. "Lets go eat lunch at the roof!"

You sigh and follow along with him, making you realize you didn't give Oikawa enough credit. Although you could handle it on your own, it was reassuring to have another hand in aiding you. He made you realize that it would be okay to rely on him. You give his hand a soft squeeze.

"Thanks, Tōru-kun."

He returns the gesture, knowing you had already figured him out. "Anytime."

~~

"Ah~"

Your brow twitches at your current predicament, your chopsticks holding a piece of food from your lunch as you stared blankly at Oikawa's open mouth, him waiting for you to feed him. Considering how he helped you out today, you gently feed him, hearing Oikawa hum with delight as he bit down on the food.

"Your homemade lunches might just be my new favorite~!"

"Did you seriously compare it to milk bread..."

You both resume your playful banter for a while until Oikawa begins to quiet down, his face holding a contemplating look.

"So...about you moving away after graduation..." he starts slowly, "...is it safe to say that you wouldn't mind having a long distance relationship?" He gives you a side glance before he lets out a quiet laugh. "I'd really like it if we could find a way to make it work."

You lean against his side before speaking. "Long distance relationships are hard..." You feel Oikawa tense up against your side. "But as long as it's you, I'd like to make it work as well." You pull away from him and give him a bright smile. "You can't get away from me that easily~"

Oikawa's face softens at your bright smile. "I'll visit you too." His eyes avert from yours as he speaks his next few words. "It takes two to run a relationship, so rely on me more." He rubs the nape of his neck nervously when you stare at him blankly, your mouth gaping a little.

"Hm, you sounded quite cool just now~" you teased and before Oikawa could let out a retort, you patted his cheek lightly before cradling it in your hand. "You're right, it does take two. Please take care of me from now on."

His hand overlaps with yours before his eyes begin to close as he starts to lean in towards you, only for you to lean in and lightly bump your forehead against his.

"Eh~ Why not?" Oikawa whines as you pull back from him, rubbing his forehead with a pout present on his face.

You only cock your head to the side, urging Oikawa to look in that direction.

"Geh!" Oikawa shoots up from his seat, pointing at the third years from the volleyball team inconspicuously hiding in the shadows by the door of the rooftop entrance. "What are you guys doing here?!"

"Ah, he found us!"

They scramble out from their hiding spots, giving Oikawa teasing smiles as they made it clear that they wouldn't leave Oikawa in peace.

"Ara, ara~" A guy with messy black hair calls out before Hanamaki joins in.

"Oh~" Hanamaki jokingly covers his mouth with one of his hands.

Iwaizumi stays under the shade, raising one hand up to say hello, still eating his lunch.

Hanamaki and the other guy hum teasingly, their brows wagging at Oikawa.

"Go away~!" Oikawa whines as he flicks his wrist to tell them to 'shoo'.

"Eh~ That's not fair, I haven't properly met her yet," the guy beside Hanamaki complains, walking towards you as he pointed to himself. "I'm Matsukawa Issei, nice to meet you."

You look up at him and give a nod, paring it off with a small smile. "Oh, um, nice to meet you too. I'm [Surname] [Name]."

Matsukawa blinks at you for a moment. "Oh~ I see why now..." He mutters before Oikawa cuts in between you two.

"Now you've met, now go...!" Oikawa points at Hanamaki. "And why are you here?! Shouldn't you be eating with your girlfriend?"

"Oh..." Hanamaki waves his hand to dismiss Oikawa, his bored face still present. "She told me to come back with news on what's going on..."

You sigh to yourself. "...Ami..."

The rest of the lunch period consisted of Oikawa trying to fend off Hanamaki and Matsukawa from asking you questions, you amusing them by responding to it. Iwaizumi walks over to you guys soon after and sits by you, once in a while pitching in to tag team against Oikawa.

"Heh~ We'll get along just fine." Matsukawa gives you a thumbs up, Hanamaki doing the same.

You blink slowly at Matsukawa's serious look and Hanamaki's bored one, their faces contradicting their joking gestures. Letting out a chuckle, you return the gesture with a grin.

"That's good to hear~"

~~

Ami chatters on for most of the time when you two get settled in with your canvases, teasing you about the information that Hanamaki provided her with. Tadashi chuckles at Ami's antics from beside you, once in a while piping in and teasing you as well.

Soon the club ends for the day, Ami leaving quickly to pick up her brother from school. Tadashi takes his time packing up his materials, glancing at you from time to time until he speaks up.

"You're a good friend."

You turn your attention to Tadashi, waiting for him to elaborate as you put your paintbrush down.

"Ah! I mean..." Tadashi's eyes dart around his surroundings as he laughs awkwardly. "You've just been so patient with Ami even though she's been teasing you non-stop today."

You roll your eyes when you're reminded of Ami. "She means well but she totally contradicted herself." You shrug your shoulders and let out a light chuckle. "But then she'd just say that this would be one of the friend benefits."

Tadashi laughs, zipping up his bag. He gives you a small wave, letting you know that he'd be off. However, before he turned around, you speak again.

"Just so you know, you're a pretty good friend too."

His eyes widen slightly before he gives you a soft expression. "I...Thanks, I actually needed to hear that."

You grin. "Well I can let you know anytime!"

Tadashi gives you one last smile and thanks you before he turns to leave, bumping into Oikawa by the doorway. "Oh, Oikawa. Sorry about that."

"Ah, no. It's alright." Oikawa doesn't move from the doorway, scratching the side of his head before he holds out a fist. Tadashi blinks confusedly at his gesture before he smiles and bumps his fist to his.

"Congrats."

Oikawa nods at Tadashi, stepping to the side so Tadashi could slip by before he makes his way towards you. "Ready to go?" One of his brows rises at your expectant face. "...What?"

You glance at the door Tadashi left at for a moment before you sigh, slipping your bag over your shoulder. "Well, as long as you guys made up for whatever happened..."

Oikawa grins as he takes your hand and laces his fingers with yours. "Yup, that's all you need to know~"

~~

By the time Oikawa walked you home, he quieted down considerably, making you concerned with his sudden silence.

"Hey...what's up?" You nudge your shoulder to his side, Oikawa turning to you with a strange look.

"Ah...no. Nothing is wrong..." He waves off your concern, leading you to roll your eyes at him.

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable Spotty."

He's quiet for a while again, letting go of your hand until he mutters something under his breath. "Not sure if you'll be too happy about it."

"Well, I'm not too happy that you're stalling—" Your voice gives out when Oikawa leans in close so suddenly, stopping both of you in your tracks as his breath fanned against your lips.

You could feel your heart stop when he closed the distance and softly pressed his lips against yours. It was light, as if he was waiting for you to pull away anytime you got uncomfortable and it warmed your heart that he was considering your well-being. Noticing your lack of movement, he slowly pulled away to gauge your reaction. You didn't know how you felt at that moment or what expression your face was making.

What you did feel was your face burning, your heart thumping unbelievably hard, and the slight tingle on your lips. Your head snaps towards him. "You..?"

He shuffles back a little to give you room to breathe. "Ah..." He subconsciously places his hand behind the nape of his neck in an almost nervous manner. He takes a deep breath before he shoots you a broad smile.

"Oh, that's the face I was looking for~" he teases as his eyes skimmed over your flushed face with accomplishment. "It wasn't fair that you weren't as flustered as I was when you kissed me." His voice gets softer as your ear picks up what he mutters under his breath.

"And I'll make sure to burn this image in my memory so I'll remember it even when you move away."

Your heart jumps once more, his soft mutters ringing clear in your ears. You take Oikawa by surprise and take hold of his stray hand at his side once again, intertwining your fingers with his and smiling softly at him.

You couldn't wait to see how else you would grow alongside Oikawa. If it was him, you would try your hardest to make it work despite of the distance. Feeling Oikawa squeeze your hand before giving you a tender smile, you knew he felt the same.

"Then I'll make sure you'll get sick of it!"

"You can try Rudolph~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present to you the ending of their high school story.
> 
> The next chapter will be the epilogue which means that it will be the final chapter next week!
> 
> For new and old readers, thank you for the feedback and the support to this point (:
> 
> Update: Splash of Color once a week on Saturday or Sunday MDT -- Epilogue on August 20 or 21, 2016


	28. Epilogue: Reality

It has been a couple months since you moved in with your brother Jun, him making sure that all your needs had been taken care of. Upon seeing your room for the first time, it was an understatement to say that you were surprised beyond belief.

Jun set up your room as a little art studio, your room split up with your bed and side table on one side and the other had newspapers littered over the floor, the corner of the room holding blank canvases for your use during the school year. You told him he shouldn't have been surprised that you tackled him for a hug a second later.

During those months, the gap between you and Jun had gotten almost nonexistent, as if it wasn't even there in the first place—although both of you knew that wasn't the case. Perhaps over time, both of you had changed, getting to understand each other even more now that you stayed together.

Rather than dwelling on Jun's change, you opted to just ask him—not that you could hide it from him anyway.

"Something is different about you..." You glance at Jun's face, trying to figure out the difference. "Did you find love or something?"

"Maybe so?" Jun lets out a little laugh, one corner of his lips twitching up into a small smile. "If loving yourself counts."

"That works too," you laugh along with him, nudging his shoulder teasingly. "Whatever it is, it's a nice look for you. You look...free? I can't really put my finger on it..." Your eyes look up as your face held a contemplative look.

Jun scratches the side of his head in an almost bashful manner. "...Thanks. I'm glad it's working out then." He stands up from the dinner table and picks up both yours and his dishes. "I'll clean up here, you go finish up your work. It's almost submission period right?"

You nod at Jun, shooting him a smile. "Yeah, thanks Jun! I'll help you out when I finish up!"

Jun cocks his brow at you, sending a slight smirk your way. "I'll believe it when I see it~"

Unfortunately, since the art university during the semester was so demanding, there was less and less time to skype Oikawa. It had been the same for Oikawa in his university, also up to his neck with the amount of work he had to get through.

There were those rare times when you finally had enough money saved up to visit Oikawa and watch his games—be it a practice game or not, you wanted to see his improvements and be able to support him without the barrier of a computer screen. Oikawa was the same, coming over to visit when you mentioned exhibits you were able to show your work in.

However, money didn't come too easily for the both of you so you guys also settled for small moments when you could text each other or call one another—even if both of you knew that definitely wasn't enough. There were also times when he'd send a gift to you and vice versa; he had even sent you a couple shirt with a little alien on it (to which you finally realized he had a great interest in), telling you to wear it on your next visit and he would wear the same.

Currently, you were holed up in your room again after dinner, painting against time since the submission deadline was getting scarily closer. During these times, you would turn off your phone and laptop so you could focus wholly on finishing the works you had to get done for school.

You let Oikawa know beforehand, surprised that he took it pretty well but then realized he had his usual ulterior motive. He wanted you to visit him the weekend after your submissions. You told him that it would have to take longer since visiting each other proved to be quite an expense too big for a couple of full-time university students. Begrudgingly, he agrees with you, telling you to come visit him as soon as possible.

~~

The sun had gone down hours ago and your eyes were starting to feel heavy. Looking at the clock, you decide to finish up for the day and go to bed to get some much needed rest.

You slowly clean up your materials, eyes glancing at the calendar once in a while that counted down the days when you'd be past this submission horror and visit a very precious person soon after.

When you had told Jun of your financial troubles, Jun had slipped in a ticket for you a couple days after you told him, him telling you to visit Oikawa that very weekend after your deadlines. Needless to say, he had received another tackle from you. Thanks to Jun, you'd be able to visit Oikawa earlier than both of you guys had anticipated. And since the ticket came as a surprise for you, you decided to surprise Oikawa as well, contacting Iwaizumi to get the address and number for their dorm.

Finally finished up with the cleaning in your art studio, you head to bed quickly, falling asleep right when your head hits the pillow.

~~

When you open your eyes, you feel very disoriented, getting dressed sluggishly and heading off to school. That's when it hit you.

Looking around your surroundings, you realize you're back at Aobajōsai High. Your eyes dart back and forth when you notice Ami beside you. She talks to you in her usual animated manner, not noticing the very confused state you're in at the moment. Then a thought came to you.

If you're back in high school then that means...

Soon after, a familiar figure enters your field of vision as you unconsciously smile at Oikawa who was still chatting away with Iwaizumi. Your smile drops as you notice that even as they got closer, he had not acknowledged you at all. When Oikawa had passed you without so much as a hello, you glance at his retreating figure in confusion.

Ami notices your expression and nudges your side. "What did he do to you?"

Your brows scrunch at the cold shoulder you had just received. "I'm not too sure what's up with Tōru..." You thought nothing of your comment until you saw Ami gaping at you.

"Since when were you guys close?" Her arms grip your shoulders, shaking you a little. "I mean I know you guys stay after school but you guys don't even go to the train station together!"

You blink slowly, taking in Ami's words. "We...don't?"

Her eyes just widen more as she leans into you. "Wait, do you?" She waits for your response but lets go of you gently when she sees the confusion on your face. "Hey...are you alright?"

You take a deep breath. "Yeah, fine just..." you trail off. "Hey, what's the date today?" The moment Ami tells you, you felt yourself draw in a deep intake of air. You weren't too sure on the specific date but you knew that it was past the time when you and Oikawa did officially meet.

But this time...you didn't.

Seeing your distraught expression, Ami grabbed onto your arm gently, linking arms with you. "I could see it happen though, I ship it."

You laugh at the irony as you wondered to yourself, _was everything your imagination?_

~~

School went by painfully slow as you went through the lessons. You couldn't focus and your mind was jumping from thought to thought trying to figure out what was happening. Soon, the last bell of the day rang as everyone shuffled out of their seats, the volume in the class progressively getting louder. You just sat there filing through your thoughts when you noticed someone standing by your desk.

Looking up at the figure, you see Tadashi smiling like he usually did as he gave you a small wave. "Hey, so are we going to the art club now?"

You stare at him, maybe for too long because you see him squirm under your scrutinized gaze. Tadashi had always been familiar with everyone but for him to go out of his way to walk with you was different. "Tadashi-kun, when did we start walking to the art club together?"

He looks taken back by your question for a moment before he laughs. "A couple weeks ago I guess? I wasn't keeping count." Tadashi packs up your notebooks and puts them into your bag. "C'mon, lets get going."

Nodding silently, you follow after him, inwardly thanking him for not questioning you on your odd behavior. Your mind was filled with static and your heart got crushed into mush when a painful thought came to you.

Somehow, Oikawa wasn't part of your life.

~~

Once you got to the art club room, you situated yourself beside Ami while Tadashi set himself up on the other side of you. You prepared your canvas and your paints almost automatically but when you finally stared at the canvas before you to start, you drew a blank. The brightness of the white was blinding but you had no energy to fill up the canvas with paint like you normally did. Your mind was swirling in confusion at your current situation.

From that moment you met Oikawa, had that just been a long dream?

As you were deep in your thoughts, Ami and Tadashi glanced at you for a moment before looking to each other for answers. They both shrug at each other, concerned for you but not knowing why you had been acting so strangely today. When they looked at your blank canvas, they assumed that you had not gotten out of your art slump yet.

You break them out of their contemplation as you sigh to yourself, them quickly snapping their eyes back onto their own canvases, but keeping you in the corner of their eyes. You lean down and grab your bag, pulling out your sketchbook. Ignoring the questioning gazes on you, you open to a fresh page and close your eyes in thought.

_How did you manage to get out of your art slump the first time?_ You ask yourself. Your mind immediately answers with a name that you knew all too well. Thinking back to all the moments you had together, you remember a time when were at the gym with your sketchbook as you sat in on his practice. You remembered it well, how he made steps to improve on every strike. The same awe and respect welled up inside you and you noticed that the block hindering your mind was gone. You clenched and unclenched your hand and grinned to yourself.

It was no use worrying about it. If your time with Oikawa never happened, you'll go talk to him and see if things would be the same as you remembered it to be. If not, then at least you had tried. You nod to yourself. _That's right, you shouldn't give up before trying in the first place._

You didn't even notice that club time was already over until Ami tapped your shoulder lightly, bringing you out of your slouch over your sketchbook. "Hey, I'm heading home now." She squeezed your shoulder softly as you returned her response with an acknowledging nod before turning your attention to Tadashi to give him a nod as well. Ami sighs at you, smiling at the fire she could see behind your eyes. "I can't wait to see what you made tomorrow."

You grin at them as they give you a relieved expression. "We'll see you tomorrow." Tadashi smiles at you.

With that, they leave the room, making you the last student in the art club room.

~~

You were in the zone.

You were going through different sizes of paintbrushes and even using your own fingers for some of the areas on your newest work. Paintbrushes glided across the canvas and fingers dabbed onto the corners. From time to time you would scrunch your nose in hopes that the itch would go away but unfortunately, you would have to stop your trance if you wanted to scratch it.

Placing your paintbrush down, you clean your hands as best as you can on your smock before scratching the tip of your nose, instantly feeling relief. You jump when you hear a yelp echo in the hallway and you shoot up from your seat and look out the door to see the source of the noise.

Your mouth gapes as you see Oikawa standing up slowly from the ground, pouting as he nursed himself from the impact of falling on the ground. You step out of your art club room and your shoes echo across the hall, making Oikawa look up at you. Taking a small breath, you walk over to him and ask, "...are you okay?"

He stares down at you for a moment and grins. "Ah that? Yeah, I'm fine." He points at the ground a few steps away from him. "Watch out for that portion though, I guess it's been waxed too well." He turns his attention back to you as you nod at his warning. "Hm, thanks for your concern~" When he winks at you, you couldn't help but laugh. It felt so nice to speak with him again. Oikawa however, seemed confused at your response to what he thought was a flirtatious wink. You wave off his confusion as you smile up at him.

"I just heard this loud scream so I wanted to make sure everything was okay," you teased, finding amusement in Oikawa's growing pout.

"You know, I was going to be nice but I'm just going to let you figure it out," he mumbles to himself, making you quirk your brow. He gives you a mischievous grin before he turns back around. "I'll see you around...Rudolph."

Your chest burst with warmth at the nickname you became fond of over the year. As soon as the nickname reached your ears, you saw a blinding white making you close your eyes against the sudden light.

As you opened your eyes, the scene before you brought a gasp to your lips. Currently, you were lying in your bed, staring up at the ceiling as stray beads of sweat fell from your forehead. You sigh in relief.

A dream.

Your hand reached out to your bedside table and searched around for your phone blindly. When you finally grasp it in your hand, you turn on your phone and squint at the screen. Soon after, your phone buzzes violently which succeeds in startling you and dropping on your face. You grumble as you pluck the phone from your face gingerly to see who would call you at this time. Not even a second later, a smile erupts from your face as you realize who it is and quickly answered the call.

"Hey Tōru."

 

____________________

 

It's been a couple months since he's last seen you in person.

During that time, Oikawa had gotten into at a sports university in the area along with Iwaizumi. The two friends had found out they would also be dorm mates, much to Iwaizumi's dismay.

He sighed heavily as he practiced in the gym with his other teammates, not being able to get over the fact that you guys have been getting less and less time to spend with each other. Even skyping was pushing it for Oikawa and he didn't even care if he was asking for too much but he just really, _really_ wanted to see you.

Of course, you did visit him and vice versa but he knew it definitely wasn't enough. At least for him.

Iwaizumi notices Oikawa off into his little world again, knowing exactly what he was mulling on about. Walking up to Oikawa, he gives him a light smack on the back of the head, successfully breaking Oikawa out of his thoughts. Once Oikawa's attention is on him, Iwaizumi grunts, and in a gruff voice he tells Oikawa to get back into practice.

Oikawa gives him a thankful smile before it goes to its usual broad one, slapping his cheeks to get his head back into practice before he picks up a volleyball again. He knew you were working hard over there and he would make sure that he'd do the same.

Since it would only be a couple more weeks until you could come over and visit him.

~~

Another day of practice finishes and everyone packs up for the day. Usually, Oikawa would stay and practice a bit more but memories of you hanging out with him after practice during the high school days become more and more vivid in his mind. He decides that for today he would actually get to bed on time and practice with a clearer mind tomorrow.

_He wouldn't mind having dreams about you either_ , he added quietly to himself.

His walk back to the dorms is a quiet one, Oikawa rejecting Iwaizumi's offer to go hang out with the team today and just really wanted to go get some sleep.

Oikawa's steps are slow and sluggish, the quiet night being his greatest enemy at the moment as thoughts continue to flow through his empty mind. It was no news to anyone that he was indeed ' _whipped_ ' or so they say. There just wasn't enough time in the world to satisfy him unless you were by each other's side.

He knew that he said that you guys could make the long distance relationship work, and he still thinks that way, but he just didn't know how much it would _hurt_.

Finally arriving at his dorm, he fishes out his room key from his pocket and opens the door tiredly.

As slow as it was, Oikawa manages to unpack all his stuff from his gym bag and get ready for bed. Turning on his phone, the corners of his lips twitch up into a smile when he sees that it's a good night text from you. He knew that this week would be unbearably busy for you and for you to still take the time to text him each and every day made his heart swell for you more and more.

Slipping into bed, he thumbs through all the text messages you sent to each other until he falls asleep.

~~

Oikawa wakes up like usual, his body trained itself to be an early morning riser as he got ready to head out for his morning run.

The run itself was fine but he felt a sense of foreboding as he got back and realized that Iwaizumi was waiting for him—in his Aobajōsai school uniform.

At first Oikawa wanted to question it but if this was a dream, he would also get to see you.

So during the walk to school, Oikawa was humming too cheerily for Iwaizumi's taste, Iwaizumi grumbling about why he had so much energy in the morning.

Soon after, Oikawa notices you walking with your friend Ami and shakes off his uneasiness. "Ah! It's Rudolph!" His steps start moving faster until he hears Iwaizumi.

"What are you even talking about?"

His steps make a sudden halt and he turns to Iwaizumi's annoyed expression. "It's not even close to Christmas yet, where are you even looking?"

The corners of his lips are pulled down into a frown when he realizes why he had such a foreboding feeling. As he passed by you and Ami, you didn't spare him one glance as you continued on your way. He looked at where you once stood, his fists unconsciously clenching.

What had happened and why now?

Iwaizumi's gruff voice knocked Oikawa back to the present. "Oi, quit standing there. Lets go."

Numbly, Oikawa walks towards Iwaizumi as he waited for him to catch up. They walked together in silence, leaving Oikawa to ponder on why you were out of his life all of a sudden.

~~

Oikawa couldn't take his eyes off of you the moment you stepped into the gym with Ami, always having you in the corner of his eye. As reassuring as it was to finally see you again, Oikawa knew it wasn't enough. He wanted to sling his arm around your shoulder, hold your hand and wrap his arms around you in a hug.

It was that feeling again.

He felt a familiar feeling well up inside him, just like the time his team lost to Shiratorizawa. It was a hollow feeling, like a missing piece had been lost. Oikawa could feel himself spiraling downward and closing in on himself until—

"Oi, practice isn't over yet!"

—a volleyball smacks Oikawa right on his face.

...A bit unconventional but in a way, Oikawa couldn't help but feel relief that at least one thing stayed the same.

But what caught his attention were the moments after he got a red imprint on his face. His ears perked up to the familiar chuckle he heard amidst the other chatters of Oikawa staring blankly at the bleachers. He catches your eye and you give him an amused look, the corners of your lips tugged up in a small smile.

Oikawa quickly covers his face and turns back to the court. The smile on your face imprinted in his mind like the volleyball imprinted on his face. It was enough to get him to focus again to his and the teams' relief.

After practice finished up for the day, Oikawa notices you and Ami walk down the bleachers, Ami making her way towards Hanamaki and leaving you alone. You shift from foot to foot, waiting for Ami and giving her supportive smiles whenever you noticed her glance at you.

Oikawa gathers himself and strides over to you with a broad smile on his face. "Oh a new face~ So, what did you think of practice?" His broad smile starts to lose face when you just stare at him blankly before jumping back slightly at the finger pointed at his face.

"...The mark the volleyball left is still on your face." You glance over at his dumbfounded expression. "Unfortunately, I wasn't watching practice this time around. But maybe next time I will..." You shoot him a grin that makes his heart squeeze in his chest. "...Spotty."

Never in all his life did he feel more thankful to hear that nickname again. His face erupts into a big grin of his own before his surroundings began to fade away. His eyes shoot back and forth as everything began to disappear. He looks back at where you were but you were gone. The next thing he knew, the floor suddenly gave way and he found himself falling.

Oikawa shoots up from his bed and evaluates his surroundings. He was back in the dorm. Turning back to his bed, his hands shuffle under the covers to find his phone. Once he finds it, he quickly goes through his contacts to see your name on the list. Pressing the call button, he notices that he can't get through. His brows scrunch in frustration as he continues to try and call you, just to make sure that everything you guys went through was not a dream.

Finally, he hears the call connect.

"...[Name]."

 

_______________

 

You hear a sigh of relief on the other end of the line as you answered the call. You couldn't even say anymore because Oikawa continued speaking.

"I...I'm sorry I called so late..." His voice couldn't hide how disoriented he felt. "I just had a bad dream..." He trails off.

You let out a soft hum in response. "...Yeah, me too." You shift in a more comfortable position on your bed before you continue. "It was like we never even met..."

The other line is silent for a while until you hear a quiet chuckle. "That's...that's exactly how mine went as well."

You let out a soft laugh. "I guess we're still in sync with each other even with the distance..." you trail off. "...But I'm glad." You hear Oikawa let out a noise of protest but you shush him and tell him to let you continue. "In my dream, even if we didn't know each other around the time that we should have, it seems that at the end of the day, we always manage to meet each other anyway."

You hear his voice start to waver. "I couldn't have been gladder to hear that nickname in that dream..."

"Same." You left your sentences short, your words catching in your throat when Oikawa spoke in the softest voice you've ever heard from him.

"...I just miss you..."

Your heart aches at his voice before you let out a hum in thought, glancing at your table that held a single ticket. "We'll see each other soon, I promise."

He groans in protest. "Not soon enough." His voice is soft and subdued, making your heart squeeze even more. "I wish I could visit every weekend."

"Yeah, me too." You agree quietly. "I promise it'll be worth it."

"If I get to see you again, I know it will be."

The rest of the night, you guys continued to talk to each other through the phone until you guys fell asleep, the phone line still on even then. Just hearing each other's voices was a lullaby, letting you guys sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.

~~

You felt energized. Just a couple days ago, you had finished up your works for your submission deadlines and handed them in which means...

Holding up your phone, you look at the directions Iwaizumi texted you, now being face to face with a door that should have Oikawa behind it. Taking a deep breath, you adjusted the tacky couple shirt that Oikawa had gotten you before you knock on the door, hoping that he would be inside. Your heart jumps when you hear the thud of footsteps coming closer and closer to the door until it was unceremoniously opened with an agitated Oikawa.

"Did you forget your key—" His eyes widened when he sees you at the door with a small luggage, giving him a small wave. "...[Name]." Your name leaves his lips softly and not even a second later, you're encased in a tight hug, Oikawa pulling you inside his dorm in the process.

He uses his free hand to close the door before it makes its way back around you. His face presses itself in your hair, and you hear him take a deep breath. "You surprised me."

You gently wrap your arms around him. "I know, that was the idea," you teased, your fingers combing through his hair. "Don't you want to see the couple shirt you got me? Now you have to wear the complimenting shirt and we can look tacky together~"

He chuckles as he squeezes you in his arms and keeps on holding onto you. "I missed you."

"I know," you chuckle, rubbing his back softly to calm him down.

"I'm glad you're here."

You fight the urge to roll your eyes and give out a wisecrack response. "I know."

He's silent for a while until he whispers out, "...I love you."

You're taken back, the breath knocked out of your lungs. Oikawa takes your silence and squeezes you tightly in the hug. After a few beats, you smile, squeezing him back just as hard.

"I love you too."

He pulls away from you suddenly and you wonder if maybe you said the wrong thing. You don't have time to ask when his hand combs through your hair gently before gripping it firmly and pushing your head forward. It was so sudden as you're met with his lips.

If his sudden confession took your breath away then this went way, way past that.

He angles his head to kiss you deeply, his hand rested in your hair. You let out a gasp, his emotions flowing through you like a crashing wave.

_I missed you. I love you. You're here._

Your knees shake, threatening to give way and Oikawa notices, leading you backwards until the backs of your knees hit the edge of the bed. You fall back with a thump as Oikawa towers over your form, his hands pressed on either side of you. His eyes are half lidded and he breathes heavily, just like you. Your heart is thumps loudly at the situation. This was a first in your relationship. Sure, there were kisses here and there but this one felt different.

It was so deep, so passionate, so _raw._

Your eyes were like a deer in headlights as you looked up at him, your chest rising up and down to regain the air you've lost during the kiss. When Oikawa sees your expression, he pulls back, sitting on the back of his legs and ruffling his hair. He takes deep breaths, his eyes looking down on the empty space on his bed as he tries to compose himself. His consideration for you makes your heart melt as you sit up as well.

Your body moves on its own as it wraps itself around Oikawa's torso, your head rested on his chest as you heard the irregular thumps of his heart. You hear him let out a relieved sigh from above your head as he returns the gesture, his head once again nuzzling your hair.

"Can we stay like this?" Oikawa whispers through your hair, coming out as a soft mumble.

You let out a hum in reply. "As much as I'd like to, Iwaizumi is probably coming back soon."

Oikawa lets out a small whine as he grips your waist and pulls you down on the bed with him, cuddling you. You laugh when you're face to face with him, brushing the stray hair from his eyes. As soon as Oikawa leans forward a fraction and his eyes start to close for another kiss, the door opens up with a bang, succeeding in him pulling back in surprise.

Oikawa raises his head from the bed to see Iwaizumi's raised brow and shoots him an annoyed look.

"Go away~!"

~~

"That's tacky as hell."

Iwaizumi's eye twitched at Oikawa's attire as his eyes darted from your shirt to Oikawa's. His eyes lock onto yours, brow raised as he silently questioned why you were putting up with Oikawa's bad fashion choices.

"It definitely is," you chuckle at Iwaizumi, tugging on the ends of your shirt to stretch it out and show off the little alien on the shirt. When you see Oikawa pouting beside you, you nudge his side. "I obviously wouldn't have it any other way," you say, a slight tease in your voice.

It perks up Oikawa right away, reaching for your hand and giving it a squeeze as you hear Iwaizumi groan at you two. Oikawa ignores him and turns to you with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Hey, what do you think about matching Christmas sweaters~?"

"Save your flirting for when I'm gone..." Iwaizumi's eye twitches at the blatant smug look Oikawa sent him.

Oikawa's cheeks puff up in indignation. "Well if you didn't come in, you wouldn't have to see it!"

An irk mark appears on the side of Iwaizumi's head, shooting Oikawa an annoyed look. "Like hell I will! I live here too Trashykawa!"

"Find somewhere else to stay!" Oikawa whines, causing more irk marks to appear on Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi quiets down for a couple moments before he gives Oikawa a hard look. "...I'm going to tell her about your disgusting sleep talk." When Iwaizumi turns to fully face you, Oikawa slaps his hands on Iwaizumi's mouth.

"Uwaaa no wait, I take it back! Don't say any more!" Iwaizumi quickly shoves him off as Oikawa's panicked eyes dart from you to Iwaizumi.

You quirk your brow at Oikawa's flustered expression before your attention is turned to your cell that began to vibrate in your pocket. Reaching in your pocket, you answer the call, stepping out of the room to hear the call properly.

"[Name]!"

You laugh at the obvious excitement in Ami's tone. "You guys there already?"

You hear a couple voices in the background, followed by Ami yelling at them to quiet down. "Yeah! Is there anything holding you guys up?"

You take a quick glance at the shirt you were wearing and grimace at the fact that after a couple months, you would meet everyone wearing _this_. "Well, other than the clothing attire we should be fine."

A pause. "...Clothing attire?"

You sigh as you comb your hair through your fingers. "You'll understand when we go meet up with you guys."

Ami lets out a little laugh at your drained voice, "alright, text me when you get here and I'll show you guys to the table we're at!"

"Okay, see you then!"

You end your call with Ami, entering the room again and clearing your throat to get the guys' attention. "They're already there so we should get going."

"Oh, time to have a reunion~"

"...You saw them last week Trashykawa..."

~~

"You guys finally made it!"

As soon as you enter the restaurant that Ami texted you the address to, three pairs of eyes glance over at Ami's excited expression, waving her arms around to call you guys over.

When you guys get closer, you notice a couple more faces you hadn't seen in a while. Hanamaki catches your eye and raises his hand before Matsukawa enters your line of vision as well.

"So that's what you meant by the clothing attire..." Matsukawa speaks out, noticing the matching shirts you and Oikawa wore.

"Pfft." Hanamaki presses a hand over his mouth as Matsukawa nudges his side. "Hey Oikawa! We already know she's your girlfriend without the couple shirts!"

Oikawa just glances at them before pulling off his light jacket in an exaggerated gesture, letting everyone see the shirt fully. "Take a good look you poor single souls!" He smiles smugly, pointing at Matsukawa and Iwaizumi, the two males' faces morphing into an irked look. "Heh heh heh! This is the power of relationships~"

"That smug little..." Iwaizumi smacks the back of Oikawa's head. "More like the power to end them!"

Oikawa whines before he turns to you. "You like it, don't you?"

You feel multiple eyes on you as you rack your mind on whether or not you should tell him the truth. "...While I'm here, lets look for some more couple wear." You pat his arm lightly, as if consoling him on the inevitable.

"Oh you're too nice..." Matsukawa drawls out. "Letting him down easy, hm~"

"Eh?! You didn't like it?"

"Sit down already," you mutter, tugging on Oikawa's shirt to make him sit.

~~

"He's so weird when he's off the court..." Hanamaki mumbles as he chews his food, coughing up some when Ami jabs his side.

"Shh, I want to see it!" Ami's eyes twinkle with amusement at the scene in front of her.

Currently, Oikawa once again opened his mouth in an obvious attempt to get you to feed him. "Ah~"

You on the other hand, had the spoon halfway to your mouth already, quirking your brow at Oikawa's antics. Once you see the expectant look on Oikawa's face, you feed yourself, hearing Oikawa whine at you.

"I fed you already," you retort, digging your spoon into your food again.

"That was a year ago!" Oikawa complains, pouting at you.

"So what was this about the power of relationships?" Matsukawa teases him, making Oikawa's pout deepen even further, making Oikawa turn to you with a pleading look.

Rolling your eyes, you scoop up some more food and lift it up for Oikawa, his expression brightening up almost instantly. He happily leans over and takes a bite from your spoon, humming happily.

"Ahh—AH! It's hot!" Oikawa waves his hand in front of his mouth as he tried to air out the food.

"Oh~ I forgot to blow on it..." you mumble out in a sarcastic manner, watching Oikawa flail his hands around.

Oikawa finally chewed the food you fed him in a comfortable manner, shooting you a teary look when he finally could. "You always do that!"

"Hm...but you set yourself up for it." You put your spoon down as you fist bump with Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa.

Ami sighs at you and digs into her food. "Of course [Name] would do that..."

~~

After the small reunion at the restaurant, you and Oikawa part ways from everyone, planning to take a walk around just like old times.

Oikawa's still pouting at you but he laces his hand with yours anyway, eyes not glancing your way.

Your lips pursed at him before you gave his hand a squeeze and nudged his shoulder. "Want some candy?" You dig your hand in your pocket and pull out some candies before popping a candy in your mouth.

He just grumbles, making you roll your eyes at him and stop walking, halting him from his tracks. When he finally turns to you to complain, you tug on his arm, succeeding in making him lean down a little before you reach up and press your lips onto his.

Oikawa's eyes are wide open as he just follows along with the sensation of how something prodded his mouth open before a sweet taste attacked his taste buds.

The candy.

By the time Oikawa is brought back to his senses, you've already pulled away, him staring blankly at you as your tongue peeked out and ran along your lips to savour the candy you lost.

"Ah...you..." He's honestly speechless at how you get these bursts of boldness as you stare at him like you've done nothing out of the ordinary.

"The candy is good right?" You grin at him as Oikawa nods slowly. Securing your hand in his again, you begin to walk once more, your arm tugging his to walk with you. Oikawa complies, not trying to speak any further, reminded of his incomprehensible stutters just moments before.

"Sorry for teasing you too much," you start, glancing at Oikawa from the corner of your eye. "Honestly, if it's from you, I love each and every gift you give me. But this..." You raise your joined hands slightly. "The best gift is when I get to see you."

The conversation dies down after that, the only sounds being both of your footsteps hitting against the pavement. Your ear picks up a crinkling noise before something is placed in your line of vision. A ticket similar to what you used today. You glance at it before you look up, seeing Oikawa smile softly at you.

"Actually...I was planning to surprise you and visit next week." His free hand rubs the back of his neck in a bashful manner. "But you beat me to it."

It was as if something in your chest burst with warmth and you felt a tingly feeling run through you, your eyes locking on to the look Oikawa gave you when you two were alone; a pleasant and soft feeling, knowing that he loved and cared for you as much as you did for him.

You avert your gaze from his, feeling flushed by the look he continued to give you.

"...Well then, I hope to see you next weekend."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Update: Colourful will have events that happened before the epilogue if you want more Splash of Color! Those chapters are stand alones and don't really add to the plot (which is why it will be an extras book)
> 
> After many drafts and documents for this story, it is finally complete! *confetti*
> 
> (shout out to toumei_elegy for giving me more ideas for teasing Oikawa #prayforoikawa2k16)
> 
> Thank you for joining me for this long ride, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to share your thoughts on how you think this story was (:
> 
> Some lovely art to hit you guys with more feels and make you all sentimental:
> 
> http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/Affirmation-628315906
> 
> http://kagurachama.deviantart.com/art/I-Like-You-Too-628131074


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